Rose Colored Glasses
by GD-7
Summary: It's amazing where even a simple day at the market can lead when you're in Smallville. Set in second season. Slash CK/Lex
1. Market Day

A/N – I do not own Superman, Smallville or anything else worth any money :( This story contains adult situations both slash (2 boys together) and straight, so consider yourselves warned. It is rated M for very good reason. I'll also tell you right up front that this is a _short_ story (at least by my standards) and I have no intention of continuing it past this 'episode'. Sorry. I already have way too much on my plate! Needless to say, there is no way in Hell you could link this back up with canon at the end, so I'm not even going to try. This takes place somewhere later in the second season (I'd say approximately between episodes 19 & 20) MINUS the duplicitous, doe-eyed doctor! Let's just forget she ever existed, shall we? Whitney is dead, Lana is over it, everything is 'normal'. Clark's relationships with Lana and Chloe are currently the standard unrequited lust with passive aggressive mixed signals, but no one is particularly pissed off at anyone else at the moment. So, let's get started!

Chapter 1  
>Market Day<p>

"Clark! Thought I'd find you here."

Clark looked over, spotting Lex strolling towards him. "Hey, Lex." He replied as he grabbed up two tall pie carriers with one hand and heaved them easily out of the bed of the truck. "What brings you here?"

"Honestly?" Lex asked as he came to a stop beside him. He glanced around for listeners, then shifted a bit closer, "Trying to improve my public image. Showing interest in local events shows 'I care'... and quite frankly, walking around and buying the odd handicraft or two is the cheapest PR boost you can get." he replied mischievously.

Clark gave him a smile, "Glad you're so interested in our community." He said with sarcastic amusement, then his face became apologetic, "Sorry, but I can't hang around and talk right now. We're running late. The market officially starts in about five minutes and we just got here!"

Lex nodded, "Let me give you a hand, then." He said, grabbed up the last two carriers. He was obviously surprised by their weight (considering Clark was carrying four already), but followed after Clark without comment. "When did your mother find time to bake this many pies?" Lex asked, trying to estimate how many pies each carrier held and how many could be baked at a time in the Kent's oven.

"We were baking all day yesterday." Clark said, shifting at an angle a bit to get through the cones that cordoned off the market area without bumping into them.

"You helped her? I didn't know you did much baking." Lex said with a little teasing tone. He just couldn't imagine Clark in a little apron, baking pies.

"Well, when mom has a big order I do the peeling and chopping and such for all the fruits and make the dough. I'm pretty good with a paring knife, and preparing dough is easy enough. The actual making of the pies and baking them is too slow and time consuming, though. It drives me nuts. But cutting up the fruit keeps me busy at least. Besides, mom thinks working with the delicate fruit will help teach me to handle things more gently. I squished more than one peach when she first started teaching me how, that's for sure!" He admitted with a self-depreciating smile.

Lex chuckled, "I bet you did." He said, imagining Clark's big, farm hardened hands trying to handle something as delicate as a ripe peach.

"Luckily she knows how to make preserves, too." Clark quipped.

Lex just chuckled softly.

They carried the pies over to the table at the end of the row that Martha was covering with a red plaid table cloth.

"Where you want these, mom?" Clark asked.

Martha spun around, spotting them. "Oh, put them on the table so we can unload them. Thank you for your help, Lex." She added, giving him a warm smile.

"No problem, Mrs. Kent. It's my pleasure." Lex replied.

"Now, now! I told you to call me Martha." She said with a smile.

"Of course. My apologies, _Martha_." Lex replied, glancing around, "Where's Mr. Kent?"

Clark smiled to himself as he set down the pie containers and took the other two from Lex. He knew the question had less to do with idle conversation and more to do with finding out which direction to watch to avoid the next verbal altercation.

"Jonathan won't be joining us today. He's working on the back forty." Martha replied as she opened one of the containers and started setting out pies. She set one of each kind out on the front of the table, setting the rest of that kind behind it in a stack, still in their boxes. "There was no point in him coming. Clark was here to help haul, and once I'm set up I just have to sit here and sell pies. It's rather boring, I'm afraid."

"Perhaps, but I'm sure everyone's glad you go to the trouble. Everyone loves your pies. In fact, if you have any left over I'm sure the Talon could use some more. From what Lana was saying when I stopped in earlier she was thinking she might need to increase her order to keep up with her customers."

"Well, that's wonderful! I'll be sure to go by and see her when I'm done here." Martha said with a smile, looking over at Lex gratefully.

Lex smiled back. It might be indirect, but the Talon seemed to be the only way he could find to help the Kents out financially without Jonathan objecting. He made sure to ask Lana not to tell anyone he had ordered seven of the extra pies she would be requiring this next week himself. He got regular allotments of vegetables and baked goods of course, which Jonathan grudgingly allowed, but the man usually got suspicious if he upped the order significantly... and Lex didn't really care to admit why he needed them. He was planning on having a small dinner for some local politicians and a few other people he needed to get in the good graces of in order to get some plans and permits pushed through... and an array of Martha Kent's wonderful home made pies would probably make a more favorable impression on the down to earth locals than the usual sorbets, fancy cakes and gourmet chocolates.

He looked over at Clark, who was working efficiently, already having emptied half of the containers and stacked the pies neatly on the table. "So, Clark... what are you going to be doing once you're all set up here?"

Clark just gave a little shrug, putting the now empty container out of sight under the table. "Just sitting here reading a book for a school assignment." He said, pulling a small, worn paperback out of his back pocket and tossing it on the edge of the table, "It's not actually due for another week and a half, but it's something to do anyway. I need to stick around to help my mom get everything packed back up when this is over."

Lex nodded, "In that case..." He said, shifting his attention to Martha, "Martha? Would you mind terribly if I borrowed Clark for a while?" He asked politely, "I suspect he knows more of the people here than I do, and I would really appreciate it if he could introduce me to some of them."

Martha looked up in surprise, "Oh... well of course. Go ahead, Clark."

Clark's face lit up, "Really?"

She smiled warmly at her son, "This doesn't require much set up and you'd just be taking up a chair here. Go on. Have fun. I'll be fine. Just be sure to get back here before closing time."

"Thanks, mom! I'll be sure to be back, but I doubt there'll be much left to haul by then!" He said, giving her a peck on the cheek before dodging around the table and over to Lex.

Luckily, their table was at the end of one of the rows, so they just started from there. The weather was perfect. There were just a few fluffy white clouds drifting by, the sun bright and the air a comfortable temperature, still in the low seventies this early in the morning.

Lex made sure to look over every booth and talk to each artisan and vendor. Many of them were a bit standoffish and obviously uncomfortable at first when approached by Lex Luthor, but Clark introducing them with his warm, innocent farm-boy smile and enthusiasm went far with loosening them up. Clark knew bringing him along was at least partially a political move, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.

The booths were a random collection. There were local artisans, farmers selling home grown fruits and vegetables, crafters, flea market type stands, food venders and even one stand that sold nothing but lawn ornaments made out of repurposed old metal objects like hubcaps, hedge shears, golf clubs and there was even a flamingo-like bird made with steel rebar, bolts for eyes, scissors for a beak and an antique metal _bedpan_ for a body!

That got a chuckle out of them both. The old singer sewing machine made into a tractor made Clark smile as well, reminding him of the ancient tractor his father was driving at that very moment.

Lex bought things, as well. One of his first purchases was a shopping bag made from a flour sack that a long haired young man with several tattoos on his arms (very rare in this area) had covered in wildly stylistic, stark black images reminiscent of those found in artistic black and white comic books. There were streaks near the top that looked to have something to do with the meteor shower, but the closer to the bottom it got, the more different people, animals and other images crowded together in an amazingly intricate manner. Clark recognized several well known locals and local landmarks depicted on it, but he would have to examine it closer to see all of the images it held. Even from a distance it was amazing work. Still, while it was probably one of the best ones the young man had, and had undoubtedly taken several hours at the very least, he wasn't sure it was worth a hundred and fifty dollars! Lex hadn't even batted an eye when he'd been quoted the price. He'd just pulled out the money and paid him.

With an item that expensive, Clark was a little surprised when Lex made his next purchase... and actually used the bag for his shopping! He'd thought Lex would handle it carefully and put it in one of those glass cases he likes so much when he got it home.

This market was big... much larger than it had been last year, but then last year had been its first year and not everyone had known about it yet. The variety of goods available was amazing, really. About halfway down the third row they came across a booth with hand made jewelry. Clark knew he'd never seen Lex wear anything other than watches worth thousands of dollars, gold or platinum cuff links, and on very rare occasion a simple (and obviously very expensive) chain around his neck... and yet he spent a good ten minutes looking through the wares available. Of course the most likely reason for his interest was the lovely, buxom young blonde the booth belonged to sitting at the end of the table in short cut-off jeans and a shirt that she'd obviously outgrown. If Clark recalled correctly, her name was Trish, and she'd just graduated from Smallville High the year before. Lex asked her about each different type of jewelry, smiling warmly as she gushed about her passion for making jewelry.

Admittedly, the pieces were decently well made for the most part, but she didn't seem to be able to settle on one type of jewelry. She had beaded necklaces, bolo ties, wire wrapped rocks, woven seed bead key chains, painted paper bead necklaces, carved wooden animal beads and even glass pendants she'd made herself, though she said she'd tired of that medium.

It made Clark wonder what her parents thought of her fickle nature. It took equipment to make most of that jewelry, especially the hand made fused glass pendants, and he suspected that equipment wasn't cheap! He just stood there, waiting for Lex to lose interest in the girl... erm, in the lovely jewelry that is.

There were some crystal point necklaces next to Clark. He started looking at them with mild interest as he waited. They each looked to be real, natural points with a simple, thin band of metal around the end to affix it to the leather cord. The pendants had a nice kind of primitive feel to their design, though the cords were obviously the cheap, mass produced type.

"I love working with those."

Clark looked up, realizing Trish was addressing him.

"Those are all completely natural crystals. They have wonderful metaphysical properties. If you hold them in your hand and close your eyes you can _feel_ the power in them. It connects you with the earth." She said, smiling but obviously being completely serious. "Go on. Try it. You'll see what I mean."

Clark wasn't exactly a believer in metaphysics, but he humored her, gently taking one of the clear crystals in his hand.

"Well?" She prompted, "Can you feel it?"

He gave her a little apologetic smile, releasing the crystal. "Sorry..." He said, shaking his head.

"Well then that's just not the kind that resonates with you. Clear quartz is strong, but not for everyone. Try the others." She said, hopping up and coming over, snagging a brownish yellow crystal up and handing it to him. "Try citron. I really like that one."

Clark did try. It's not like he wouldn't like to feel more connected to this planet! Still, he wasn't feeling it, and he couldn't bring himself to lie to her just to humor her. He did like the color, but the leather cord was a bit short for his taste, and the clasp looked small and cheap, so he handed it back to her.

"Ok, try amethyst." She said, quickly switching out the yellow one with a deep purple crystal. "Close your eyes!" She commanded.

He closed his eyes, catching one last glimpse of Lex smirking, obviously enjoying Clark's discomfort at the young woman's insistence. He held it, trying, but after a minute just shook his head.

"Just keep them closed." She said as she took the crystal from his hand and placed another there.

He gave it a moment, then shook his head.

She gave a little huff and he heard the soft clinking of the crystals hitting together as she looked for a different one. After a moment she switched the crystal in his hand for a new one.

Clark instantly felt a tingle where the new crystal touched his skin. He furrowed his brow and closed his hand around it. It was about an inch long and very thin, yet he could feel it making his whole hand tingle as it felt almost like it was vibrating in his grasp. He opened his eyes, then opened his hand and looked down at it. It was just an innocuous looking little point with a rich, clear rosy color to it.

"You can feel it, can't you?" She asked excitedly. "Rose quartz harmonizes well with passionate souls."

Clark blushed a bit at the comment. He picked the thin crystal up between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it gently between his fingers before laying it out flat on his palm once more. It had a lot more facets than he'd expect. Not that he wanted to air doubts about the 'completely natural' crystal, but it didn't look like any natural crystal he'd seen.

"Passionate souls?" Lex asked with a little smirk, making Clark's cheeks a shade darker. He reached out for the little crystal.

The crystal seemed to try to give one last little surge of 'metaphysical' power, tingling against Clark's palm almost like a mild electric shock as Lex's fingers grazed him, plucking it up, then the sensation was gone.

Lex placed it on his own palm, gazing down at it for a minute, then sighed. "Guess I'm not as passionate as you, Clark."

"Maybe you just need a higher grade of rose quartz." Trish replied in an obviously flirting manner. She took the crystal necklace and hung it back up, barely glancing at the rack, then hurried back over to the end of the booth. "Come check these out." She said as she resumed her perch on her stool and pulled over a rack of what looked like wire wrapped marbles. "Obviously they aren't natural in shape, but they're natural stones."

Lex went over, examining the small stone spheres as requested. "Do you make these as well?"

"Well, I wrapped them, but I didn't make the stone spheres. From what I hear that is _way_ too time consuming! Besides, I could never make them for what I pay for them pre-made, so why bother, right? Besides, wouldn't want to take the job away from some poor six year old in China!" She said with a little snort at her own joke.

Lex gave her a smile. Clark smiled as well, but less about her rude and callous joke, and more because he knew Lex well enough to know he didn't find it all that amusing either. He was using his humoring smile, though she obviously wasn't bright enough to catch the nuance.

As Trish went back to flirting with Lex, Clark let his mind drift. He really wasn't all that interested in her likes and hobbies.

He shifted uneasily as he waited, his stomach feeling a bit unsettled. He hadn't had more than some toast for breakfast, so he suspected he should get some food in him before his stomach started growling embarrassingly. He gazed down the row at a vendor selling funnel cakes. Not real filling, but they were definitely tempting. He wondered if Lex would eat something like that in public. He glanced over at him, looking at the slate grey dress shirt and crisp black trousers he was wearing. No, he probably wouldn't want to eat something covered in powdered sugar wearing that. It looked good on him though.

He was distracted as his hand that had been resting on the edge of the table nearly knocked something off when it shifted. He caught it before it could have any chance of falling of course. He picked up the odd piece, looking it over. It was a small, flat donut shaped pendant just a big bigger than a quarter on a black silk cord. He looked at it a bit more closely, trying to figure out what it was made of. It didn't feel like glass, being lighter, but it was clear except for the somewhat thick dusting of tiny bits of color suspended inside it that caught the sunlight in an interesting way. The bits were different sizes and shapes, though most looked to have sharp edges like fragments of something.

"Oh, that's resin." She quipped quickly, seeing his interest, her desire to make a sale once more trumping her flirting for the moment. "My brother Sam likes to cut stones for jewelry. He's got a booth in the next row over." She said, jerking her thumb towards the row behind her that they hadn't perused yet, "He let me have some of the little bits of stone that were left over. They were pretty, but too small to do anything with really, so my cousin gave me some resin she had sitting around. She wasn't using it anymore anyway. She just got it on a whim, but it smells bad when you first mix it until it sets up, so she didn't like it."

Sounded like the flighty nature ran in the family. Clark just smiled, "What kind of stone are the bits?"

She rolled her eyes up, thinking about it, "Oh, let's see... I think there's some garnet, some citron, some amethyst, couple of others I can't remember... there are some real silver and copper shavings... oh, and there might be some bits of meteor rock, too."

Clark's eyes immediately darted up to her, then back to the charm in his hand. He managed to keep himself from immediately dropping it and jerking away, but the temptation was strong. There were another four necklaces with resin charms laying there. Still... why wasn't he hurting? The pain of the proximity of meteor rock was usually immediate and easily recognizable. True, he felt a little queasy, and now that he thought about it, it did seem to be getting slowly worse the longer he stood there, but there was no pain. He gazed intently at the floating bits in the necklace. There were only a few tiny flecks of green in the one in his hand. Most of the bits were yellow, purple, a watery black and a dark, slightly purplish red along with some of the mentioned metal shavings. He squinted at the tiny green flecks, then looked down at the other necklaces. Two were simple donuts like the one he held, the other two each having a smaller resin donut just a bit bigger than a nickel on either side of a pounded copper donut about the same size as the larger resin donuts. He didn't see much green in them from where he was. The smaller donuts looked to have a higher concentration, but even those didn't have much. He looked back at the green flecks in the charm in his hand. "You sure those are meteor rock?" He asked curiously.

"Well," She said dubiously, "If those have some of the meteor rock, it's not much. Any of the charms I tried to make with much of that stuff in them wouldn't set up right, so I had to throw most of them out. The smallest bits were all mixed up, though, so I think all of those have at least a little in them. Here, let me look." She said, holding out her hand.

Glad for the excuse to get away from as much of the meteor rock as possible without drawing attention to it, he went over to where she was perched on her tall bar stool at the end of the table, holding it out to her. She took it and he noted her nails were very long and painted a rather gaudy orange. He wondered if they were fake, but then brushed off the irrelevant thought. She leaned forward to get it in the sunlight, the umbrella she had rigged up to shade her blocking out the sun where she sat.

Lex gazed toward her intently, a small smile on his face. It took a minute for Clark to realize that her position gave them a nice view straight down her top. In fact, if she shifted around too much things might get indecent. Lex was 'polite enough' not to point out the fashion faux pas. Clark just rolled his eyes at him.

"Ya, this one doesn't have much. I think some of the other ones might have more." She said, offering it back. He took it, then jerked his hand away as the sharp edge of one of the nails grazed his hand. He looked down in surprise, staring at the little pink scratch she'd left on his skin.

"Oh, I'm _so sorry!"_ She said, spotting it.

Clark looked up at her, still a bit stunned that something as little and insignificant as an over polished fingernail could have damaged him. Not that it did much if any real damage or hurt, but still. He quickly forced a smile, "It's nothing." He quickly assured her. He carefully kept the smile on his face as he gazed down at the charm, his mind racing wildly. He didn't even really feel queasy anymore now that he wasn't close to the whole lot of charms, but she'd still been able to score his skin. He'd never thought to try trace amounts of meteor rock to see if it could lower his strength to normal! Ok, he wasn't sure how much his strength was diminished, and he was probably still much stronger than he should be by rights, but how much easier would it be to keep his secret if he had something that wouldn't cause him pain, but could make him a bit vulnerable when he needed to 'prove' he was normal? There was a brief fancy of keeping it on permanently and just living out his life like a normal human... but that was just a pipe dream and he knew it. He was well aware that the effects got worse with time. Still, he might be able to wear something like this for reasonably long stretches of time. He gazed down at it, imagining the possibilities, then saw the thirty dollar price tag attached to it and sighed. He only had about twenty on him.

He started to reach over to set it back on the table, but Lex snagged it out of his hand.

"I'll take it." Lex said, pulling out a couple of twenties and handing them to her. He then produced a business card and handed it to her as well. "You do some excellent work. In my opinion, the internet would be the perfect venue for your budding business. If you'd like, you can give me a call and we can have coffee some time. I'd be more than happy to give you some insights and pointers on how to create your own thriving internet outlet for your art."

She beamed, clutching the card, then came to her senses and quickly started searching for his change in her pocket.

"Keep the change." He assured her, giving her one of his warmest smiles and a nod before strolling on.

Clark quickly caught up with him.

"It's amazing what this fresh country air does to a body, isn't it?" Lex asked in an undertone, "Makes everything _ripen up_ so nicely."

Clark gave a little snort. "Don't hold your breath waiting for a call... and if you actually get one, make excuses and get out of it if you know what's good for you."

Lex glanced over at him, "Does she have a jealous boyfriend?"

"Worse." Clark replied mirthfully, "Three older older brothers and a father who hates corporations and dearly loves his shotgun."

Lex made a little grimace, then smirked, "Message received. Thanks for the heads up." He said before tossing the necklace over to Clark.

Clark caught it. "You bought this for _me?"_ he asked in surprise.

Lex chuckled softly, "I'm certainly not going to be caught dead wearing that thing! Those bitchy fashionistas in the magazines would have a field day if anyone got a picture of me wearing something like that! It has a certain quaint, _teenage_ charm, though. I think it'd look good on you."

Clark looked at the charm, knowing he should refuse the gift, but unable to make himself do it.

"Stop looking like that." Lex scolded. "It's just a bauble, not a truck. Certainly your father isn't going to throw a fit over something so trivial!" He gazed over at Clark with a smile. "Keep it. I know you want to. You should have seen the way your eyes lit up when you were looking at that charm."

Clark gazed over at him and smiled, quickly looping the silk cord over his head. "Thanks, Lex." He said gratefully.

A little ways further down the row Clark paused, looking over the booth containing dozens of home made wind chimes and spinners. Some were made from old silverware! He'd never thought to use silverware like that! He especially liked the piece that was a tapered strip of flat copper about three inches wide that had been twisted lengthwise until it formed a spiral that caught the wind and made it spin. The copper was weathered with a soft green patina except for a single shiny, bright copper streak down the middle where they had obviously dripped some clear varnish or something like that on it when it was freshly made. He watched it flash as it twirled in the wind and wondered if the streak had been made on purpose or if it was just a happy mistake.

When he looked around for Lex, he had to grin. Across the isle there was a flea market stand containing, among other things, six long white boxes full of comic books. Lex hadn't waited for an introduction at this booth. He was already leafing intently through the comics.

Clark came over, but Lex barely noticed him. The comics were alphabetical, and he was leafing through the Ws. It wasn't hard to figure out what he was perusing. Suddenly Lex let out a soft hiss of excitement and pulled out one of the comics. Sure enough, it was an issue of Warrior Angel.

"Number sixty six!" He said as he glanced over at Clark with an excited grin.

Clark chuckled, "I though you already owned the whole series!"

"I do, but this is the alternate cover! They were made for a special event and they only printed about a hundred of them!" He very gingerly opened the clear plastic sleeve and removed the comic, keeping his finger over the tape to make very sure it didn't catch on the comic and mar it. With the care of a surgeon, he examined it, touching it as little as humanly possible. When he was done with his inspection he very carefully put it back in its sleeve, then looked around for the owner of the booth. The owner was an overweight man in overalls sitting in a somewhat battered lawn chair (that didn't look quite up to the task of holding his weight).

"Hey, Mr. Nelson!" Clark said cheerfully.

The man looked over to him, but his eyes barely paused there before darting over to Lex. His eyes narrowed, his expression growing instantly sour.

"Um... I'm Clark Kent. Remember me? I helped you bail hay last year?" Clark said cheerfully, knowing from past experience that people looking at Lex in this manner were usually just a few heartbeats away from saying something nasty.

His eyes drifted back to Clark. "Ya, I remember you."

Clark smiled a bit wider, trying to will some of his good mood into the man, "This is my friend..."

"I know who he is." the man grumbled, spitting at the ground and nearly hitting Lex's finely crafted leather shoes. "Oops. Sorry about that, Luthor." He said insincerely with a wide grin.

"No problem." Lex said, his smile carefully maintained.

The man gazed back over at Clark, "Your parents know you're slumming with the likes of him?"

Clark's smile fell away, but Lex's hand brushed his arm soothingly. "I'm interested in this comic book." Lex said, pretending he hadn't just been insulted, "How much is it?"

The man looked him up and down, then drawled, "Hundred bucks."

Clark's jaw dropped as his head darted back over to the comic book boxes. "That sign says the comics are a dollar each!" He said, pointing to the sign.

"That's not a decimal point. It's just an unfortunately placed smudge of dirt. The sign says a hundred dollars." the man said with a malicious smile.

Clark opened his mouth indignantly, but Lex's hand on his arm stopped him once more. "That sounds fair." He replied with a forced smile. He pulled out his wallet and handed the man a hundred dollar bill, then slid the comic into his bag. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Nelson." he said before subtly pushing Clark away from the booth.

Mr. Nelson just laughed nastily, shoving the money away in his pocket.

Clark was fuming by this point, but Lex moved him along.

"It's ok, Clark." Lex reassured him, "let's just move on."

"But that jerk just made you pay a hundred bucks for a comic book!" Clark said indignantly.

"Yes," Lex agreed, "I just paid a hundred dollars for a comic book that is easily worth _eight_ hundred."

Clark's eyes darted over to him, taking in the smug smile, then Clark broke into a smile and let out a laugh. The mood of the day lightened once more.

Once they started down the next row, Clark suddenly remembered what that girl had said... that her brother had a booth in this row. If she'd gotten meteor rock scraps from him, it stood to reason that he might have some larger meteor rocks at his booth. He kept an eye out for the booth, paying close attention to how he felt, waiting for the first signs of queasiness that warned him that he was about a foot away from pain.

Sure enough, when they were about two thirds the way down the row he felt it and jerked to a stop, having to back up a pace as the pain spiked almost instantly. His hand automatically darted to his stomach as his insides seemed to twist.

The sudden move caught Lex's attention and he stopped as well, looking back at him, "Clark? What is it?"

Clark forced a smile, darting his eyes around and searching for a reason for his sudden halt. "Um... that stand back there has pork tenderloins. They smell great, and I barely ate anything this morning." He said, patting his stomach, "My stomach is already growling. I think I'm going to get one. You want one?"

Lex flashed him a smile, "I ate right before I came, but you go right ahead."

"Don't wait for me. I'll catch up to you in a few minutes." Clark said quickly.

Lex gave him a nod and continued on as Clark darted off in the direction of the food stand. He came upon the brother's 'booth' in short order. It was actually just a bare card table covered with cut stone cabochons, a dozen or so of them put in settings and three already attached to a chain, though the chains were obviously cheap and just sprawled around them messily.

Lex paused at the table, looking over his wares. The presentation was severely lacking, but the workmanship was pretty good. "Hello, there." Lex said cordially, "You must be Sam. I believe I just spoke to your sister in the last row."

The young man looked up at him. He looked a bit wary, obviously recognizing him, but apparently had enough salesmanship skills to keep himself from saying anything to insult a potential customer... especially a rich one. "Mr. Luthor." He said with a little nod. "Anything in particular you're looking for?"

"Not sure." Lex said, gazing down at the stones. "I must say, you do appear skilled."

That got a little smile and a somewhat embarrassed expression.

"Your sister says you work with meteor rock."

He quickly nodded, pointing to several cabochons that were a rich, lustrous green color, "It cuts real easy, actually, and it's something you only find in Smallville, so it appeals to the occasional tourist and to parents who have kids that are going off to college. You know... to give them a little piece of Smallville to take with them."

Lex nodded, "Nice clarity, rich color... I can see why they'd be popular." He said as he held one up to the light.

"I've got more than green, too!" The boy said quickly, "Check this one out..." He said, picking up a circular cab that was roughly half red and half green.

"I heard they'd found red." Lex said, putting down the cab he'd been holding and taking the multicolored one. "Very interesting."

"There are some really beautiful colors if you can manage to find them." The boy went on, "It's just extremely rare to find anything other than green. I have a cousin who works for the county, clearing public land. He gives me a call if he finds anything unusual."

Lex nodded, setting the cab back down. He had to admit, the dynamic play of colors was very interesting, but he really had no practical use for it. It's not like he was into making jewelry. Well, sure, he could have jewelry made for him... but when would that cab match anything he might wear? It was kind of christmas colors, really, and he didn't usually dress for holidays, especially with large, gaudily colored jewelry. It just wasn't his style. "I certainly hope you're careful when you're working with the meteor rock. Wearing a mask and such."

The boy blinked, "The government said the rocks were safe."

Lex flashed him a smile, "True, but I've heard far too many rumors to the contrary to dismiss caution entirely. Don't quote me, and I haven't had any conclusive tests done, but let's be frank... it's not like the government had time to do any long term exposure tests. Not trying to rain on your parade. Like I said, they're beautiful pieces... I'd just hate to see you having health issues ten years down the line because no one ever warned you about potential hazards."

"Well... thanks... I guess." The boy murmured uneasily.

Something caught Lex's eye and he picked it up. It was a pink stone octagon about the size of a half dollar. There were five of them laying there. "This is a rather unusual shape for a cabochon, isn't it?"

Eager for a change of subject, the boy smiled and nodded, "An old Indian lady asked me to make some for her. She makes jewelry. She's only about three booths down, in fact." He said, leaning out and gazing down the row, then pointing at a little old lady a ways down. Her table looked much more tastefully arranged, with a hand woven blanket over the table and a few dream catchers and such for ambiance. "I managed to find a crystal in a meteor deposit that was almost perfectly the right shape and size. You don't really get a lot of Earth crystals that form in a perfect octagon shape. Usually they're hexagon, or at the very least uneven. That one was just perfect for what she asked for, so I just slabbed it, bevelled the edges and polished it. I made more than she asked for so she'd have some to choose from. These are the extras."

"I haven't seen much Native American jewelry with octagonal shapes in it before." Lex ventured.

"Well, then you haven't seen her work." The boy replied. "She uses them a lot. Well, she didn't last year, but this year it looks like almost every new piece she's made has that shape and weird symbols on it."

"Really?" Lex murmured thoughtfully, then he drew his attention back to the boy. "Well, you've been very helpful, thank you." He said, darting his eyes down at the table and quickly picking out the two most expensive pieces he had; a nicely oriented oval rainbow obsidian cab and a necklace featuring a freeform faceted piece of quartz with bright golden threads of rutile through it. The cab might be interesting to have inlayed in a piece of furniture... and it never hurt to have a spare bit of jewelry around to gift to a woman to impress her. He'd definitely get a better chain for it, but the rutilated quartz was impressive enough to make even some of the snobby rich girls he usually dated smile.

He paid the boy, who smiled brilliantly. Lex smiled back, "Do you have a business card? I don't exactly know of many people who do this kind of work, and it'd be good to have a name in case I ever need anything unusual made."

"Oh... um..." The boy said, a bit flustered. He ripped a section off the brown bag he'd been writing sales on and quickly wrote his name and number on it, handing it to Lex. "Sorry, I don't have anything fancy made up." He apologized.

"No problem," Lex said, putting it with the pieces and slipping them into his bag, "This works just as well. I wish you luck with your sales." He said, giving him a nod before heading off.

He heard the boy call a quick thanks after him, but Lex barely noticed, intent on the old Indian woman's booth. He kept his pace relaxed of course, pretending to glance over the goods of the booths in between, though he didn't really pay much attention to them. There were a couple of people at the woman's booth, so he slowed, pretending to look at some sun catchers at the next booth over. He'd rather approach the booth alone so he could ask her about the pieces if he wanted to without other people noting his interest. He glanced over covertly while waiting for them to clear out.

There were three teenaged boys at the booth, two at the far end, one closer to Lex. Though they weren't wearing their letterman jackets he easily recognized them as Smallville High football players. He'd looked into all of their backgrounds the year before after finding Clark strung up in that corn field.

Suddenly the two at the far end started horsing around, knocking over one of the little stands holding up a dream catcher. The old woman hurriedly struggled up out of her chair and waddled over to set it back upright, shooing them away.

Lex strode quickly over and grabbed the third boy's arm as he tried to hurry after his friends. "Haven't you forgotten something, Mr. Jenkins?"

The boy spun around, looking surprised. He obviously recognized Lex instantly (as most people in Smallville could). He furrowed his brow and darted a glance after his friends, who had come to a stop, their smiles instantly gone. "What are you talking about?" Jenkins replied guardedly.

"I believe you haven't paid for that jewelry in your pocket yet." Lex replied evenly.

The boy's friends quickly pretended they didn't know him and walked off at a hurried pace.

Jenkins glared at their backs, his confidence obviously faltering a bit once he realized they'd left him to take the rap alone. "I don't know what you're talking about." The boy replied gruffly, trying to hurry off after them.

"You might want to rethink that response." Lex called after him, a threatening edge to his voice.

The boy spun around, looking at him. "You don't scare me, Luthor!" He spat. "You're just another spoiled rich kid who thinks he owns the world. You don't own me!"

"No." Lex replied evenly, "But both of your parents _are_ in my employ. At least for the moment."

Jenkins' eyes widened, then narrowed. "You wouldn't fire my parents. My mom's one of your best researchers!"

Lex gave him a little smile. "Your mother _does_ appear to be a good employee... but she's hardly irreplaceable. There were twenty three other applicants for her position, and I believe several of her close competition are still on the market. As for your father, he's an average employee at best, and in fact only landed the job because your mother insisted they were a package deal. If she should be replaced, they would _remain_ a package deal. Surely you must be able to understand my trepidation... if they raised a son who sees no problem with stealing from a little old lady, it makes me wonder if the lack of morality reflects flaws in their own integrity. I certainly wouldn't want to risk having a couple of lying thieves in my employ, now would I?"

Jenkins glared at him for a long moment, then pulled a couple of necklaces out of his pocket and tossed them on the table and started to turn.

"The ring, too." Lex added helpfully, holding out his hand.

Jenkins threw him another hateful glare, then worked a silver ring out of his other pocket and tossed it at him.

Lex caught it easily.

"Bald freak." The boy muttered spitefully as he stormed off.

Lex just gave his retreating back a rueful smirk before turning to the booth. He walked up to the table, gently placing the ring in an open spot.

"I suppose I should thank you." The old woman said, watching him warily.

Lex just gave his head a little shake. "That's ok. Don't bother. To be honest, it was more about them than it was about you. I suspect that was one of the boys who humiliated a friend of mine last year. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have knowingly let them get away with that even if they were some other kids, but I know how your tribe feels about Luthors, so I'm just saying it's ok to go on disliking me."

She let out a little bark of laughter. "Good to see you don't have unrealistic expectations." She replied, arranging the necklaces back in their places, then settling back on her seat.

Lex looked over the gathered items for sale. Many were old traditional symbols and styles... but a good several dozen were a decided departure from the standard Indian jewelry. The octagon shape was predominant in these, either in the shape of the inlayed stone or etched into the silver. There were symbols as well... symbols like the ones in the caves. The ones no one could translate.

"This is an interesting design." Lex opined, running his finger over one of the pieces. "Where did you get the idea for it?"

She chuckled. "Why do you ask questions you already know the answers to?" She asked. She pulled out a worn envelope and pulled out a couple of photos, laying them out before him. "Surely you've seen this. You're in charge of preserving it after all."

Lex peered at the photos. They were of the octagon carved into the cave wall, the strange symbols surrounding it. He nodded, "I was just curious if these symbols showed up anywhere else in your culture." He replied, wondering how many people had been through that cave and taken pictures of it before he'd taken custodianship of it.

"Nope." She replied, "Just this. It intrigues me. I feel like there's much more to it than appears on the surface..." She said, gazing down at the photos thoughtfully.

Lex looked at her and could easily tell she felt the same way he did about it... that there was something very important about that symbol, something that could change the world. Of course he might just be getting carried away, and it might just be nothing more than a curiosity on a cave wall... but somehow he doubted it. He reached over, running his finger over the symbols carved in one of the pieces. It was made of silver, almost the exact right size to fit the space in the wall. The symbols were etched into its surface, a round, bright green cabochon set in the middle. He'd never dream of wearing something so large and ostentatious, but it might look good in a case on a shelf. Then again, the rose colored stone octagons the boy had made had been put to good use as well. Several of them had been drilled and strung on leather cords, the symbols etched into them and filled in with black ink or paint so they showed up starkly. When he held one up and the sunlight came in the edge of it, it almost seemed to glow. Still... it was _pink_. He set it back down, going back to contemplating the one with a green stone.

Seeing his indecision, she let out a little chuckle. "Since you _did_ do me a good turn, no matter the reason, I'll do you one in return. Come closer." She said, heaving herself up out of her chair once more.

He furrowed his brow, but moved a bit closer as requested. She was a short woman, looking at least eighty, and lifting herself out of the chair seemed to require a rather Herculean effort, so he felt it would be only polite to at least play along.

She reached out one of her thin, weathered hands and placed it flat on his chest over his heart, closing her eyes. She then held out the other hand and waved it slowly over her wares. After a moment of this she opened her eyes and reached down, picking up a thick silver bracelet and handing it to him. "That is the one." She declared, carefully lowering herself back down into her chair.

Lex looked it over. It was a solid piece of silver bent and smoothed into the proper shape, an octagon cut out of the center and replaced with one of the pink stone slabs, the symbols surrounding it just as on the cave wall. There were a few symbols carved into the stone as well. Lex's eyes widened a bit as he realized they seemed to match the metal disc he had once possessed. "These symbols." He said, indicating them and trying to sound casual, "They are _in_ the octagon, but the octagon in the picture is solid. Why did you put them there? Is this from some other cave?"

She chuckled softly, "No. I just put them there because they felt like they _wanted_ to be there."

"I see." He said, wondering if she knew more than she was letting on. He glanced down the row, noting Clark standing there at the end waiting for him. He must have passed by while he wasn't looking. He was just eating his sandwich, waiting patiently for Lex.

Lex sighed. It was obvious he wasn't going to get any answers out of this woman. Still, he wanted to get whatever points he could win from someone in her tribe, so he decided to buy something. There were several pieces he would like. The bracelet he held was a bit... _pink_ though. He set it down and reached for the one with the green stone.

Her hand beat his there, covering the pendant. "That one will bring you sorrow. You need to get the bracelet. _That_ is what your heart desires." She said with finality.

Lex pulled his hand back, looking down at the bracelet. "The green one costs more." He pointed out.

She gave a little snort, "You think the spirits care about money?"

It looked like he would have to get the one she wanted him to buy if he didn't want to upset her. Well, the extra symbols did intrigue him anyway, and it would still look decent on his shelf... or perhaps in front of a window so the sunlight could shine through the stone. "Of course not. Well, I can't argue with my own heart, now can I?" He asked with a little smile, pulling out the money and paying her. He took the bracelet and opened his shopping bag.

She held up her hand to stop him. "It wants to stay out. It likes the sun." She said, giving him a look that gave him no doubt he'd be scolded if he didn't listen to her.

He stared at her a moment, then flashed her a smile. "I see. Alright then." He said, closing his bag and keeping the bracelet in his hand. "Thank you very much."

She gave him a little nod, settling back in her chair a bit more.

Lex wandered over towards Clark. He didn't look back, but he could feel her eyes following him, so he kept the bracelet in plain view. He wasn't sure what it was about the old woman, but he felt oddly uneasy about the idea of upsetting her.

"You pick up anything new?" Clark asked with a smile, though he eyed the bag a bit warily.

"A couple of things. Just jewelry." Lex said.

Clark relaxed as Lex drew up beside him, still not feeling the pain of meteor rock. He'd feared Lex would buy one. That would have been hard to deal with tactfully. He flashed him a little smile. "What's with the pink bracelet?"

Lex glanced down at it. "Bought it from that old Indian woman down there." He said, nodding back towards the woman who was now looking the other way (though Lex had a sneaking suspicion she was still paying attention to him). "She was quite insistant, actually. I like the design, obviously, but it's not really my color. She wouldn't let me buy the green one. It was a nice one. Meteor rock, I think. She said it would 'bring me sorrow'." He said with amusement.

Clark flashed him a smile, feeling a wave of relief. "Well, I'd definitely listen to her. She looks wise. Still... um... why are you waving the pink one around?"

Lex chuckled. "She said not to put it away. She said it likes the sun. I suspect it's her way of trying to get free advertising."

"Does it fit?"

Lex shifted his bag up to the crook of his elbow, examining his new purchase. "No idea actually. Never tried it on. It looks a bit big." He tried it on and, sure enough, it was a bit loose on his wrist. "Now why would someone make a bracelet this big? It's not like I have small wrists."

"I think they make that type a bit big, then you're supposed to kind of bend them to fit." Clark said helpfully.

Lex just nodded, his attention caught by one of the booths down the last row.

Clark wiped his mouth with his napkin, then tossed his trash in the nearby trash can before returning his attention to Lex. "Here, let me help you." He said, reaching out and putting his hand over the bracelet to bend it into shape for him.

As soon as his palm made contact with it, Clark felt a shiver go through him. His heart raced and he felt light-headed for a moment, but then it passed. "May I?" He asked a bit dazedly.

Lex glanced over, then said "Sure." and let his wrist slip out of the bracelet, wandering over to a nearby booth selling preserves.

Clark slipped the bracelet on. It fit like it was made for him. He gazed down at the clear, rose colored stone as it seemed to glow back up at him. He searched the face of it for a moment, then spotted what he knew would be there. There was a little chip of red meteor rock embedded in the silver just above his father's symbol. It wasn't enough to completely unleash his id like he'd experienced before, but it took the edge off quite nicely. The worries that always whispered softly in his head faded away, leaving his mind calm and peaceful. The effect was pleasantly liberating, but not too overpowering. It was like getting a tiny taste of a favorite drug. He still had some vague, nagging thought that he should probably take it off, but it felt so good he just didn't want to! What harm could a piece that tiny do, after all? A grin spread over his face as he felt the effects radiate softly through him.

Clark wandered after Lex, coming to a stop beside him.

Lex glanced over, seeing it was him, then looked back at the jars before him. "Why doesn't anyone make any pear jams or preserves?"

Clark just shrugged.

Lex sighed and moved away from the booth, then stopped, looking down the row. Nothing down this last row looked all that interesting. He didn't need any quilts, afghans, dog treats, hand sewn purses or flowers, and he got his fresh vegetables from Martha, so the farmer stands held little interest.

"This row's boring." Clark said, expressing aloud what Lex had already noted. "Let's get out of here and do something! This thing doesn't close down until five, and I really don't want to sit around here all day twiddling my thumbs!"

Lex looked over at him and smirked, "I see you're feeling better now that you've gotten some food in you!" He gave the row one last look, then turned, "Care to join me at the Talon for a coffee?"

"It's not Metropolis, but it's better than nothing." Clark conceded grudgingly.

"We'll have to walk. I left my car there earlier." Lex said as they wove between the barricades that kept cars out of the market area and started for the heart of town. It wasn't too far away, just a few blocks really.

Lex pulled out his phone as they walked and started tapping on the keys.

"What ya doing?" Clark asked.

"Just typing myself a little reminder." Lex said.

Clark took in the somewhat evil smirk and shifted closer, peeking at what he was writing. "What's the note about?" he asked, spotting the name Jenkins on the screen before Lex slipped the phone back away.

"Oh, it was just about a young man I ran into earlier. He expressed an interest in gaining some discipline. His parents are employees of mine, so I thought I'd be generous and offer to pay his tuition for military school. It's the least I can do, and I can't think of anyone who is more deserving."

Clark let out a little burst of laughter and shifted his path a bit, bringing himself close to Lex and throwing his arm across his shoulders, "You can be a real vindictive bastard sometimes, you know that?"

"I have no idea what you mean." Lex replied innocently, though a faint smile remained on his lips.

"Don't get me wrong, Lex. I like it. You've got the balls to stand up to people when they piss you off. I admire that about you." Clark said mirthfully.

Lex looked over at him, arching an eyebrow. He glanced at the arm that was draped around him and noticed the bracelet on Clark's wrist. "I see it fits you." He commented.

Clark slipped his arm off of Lex's shoulders, "So what else did you buy while I was off?" He asked.

It was a pretty obvious redirect, and Lex noted Clark subtly brushing the sleeve of his flannel over the bracelet, but he let it slide. It's not like the piece of jewelry held any real personal interest for him anyway, and if Clark liked it he was more than welcome to it... but since it might feel odd giving him two things in one day he decided to just pretend to forget about it and let Clark take it if he wanted it. Clark was most likely just too embarrassed (or proud) to ask for it.

Lex reached into his bag and pulled out the two items he'd bought from the young man, letting Clark see them. Clark admired the pieces, then handed them back as they approached the Talon.

"Let me just toss this in the car." Lex said, ambling over the sleek Aston Martin he was driving that day. He opened it up and flipped the seat forward, slipping the bag in the narrow storage space behind the seat before closing the car back up. He glanced up as he closed the door, noting Jenkins and his buddies milling around across the street, obviously pretending not to see him. He made sure to hit the button to lock the doors and turn on the alarm before following Clark into the Talon.

Lex nodded to Lana as they entered, then went over, choosing a seat where he could keep an eye on the young hooligans outside. Yes, he could have his mechanics fix anything they might do to his vehicle, but he _liked_ that car! Besides, if he witnessed any vandalism that would be a very persuasive argument to give his parents when offering the schooling. And he had every intention of making sure that disrespectful young man spent the remainder of his high school years with a neat uniform and a buzz cut!

"Looks like they're short handed today. What do you want? I'll run the order up." Clark offered.

"Cappuccino." Lex replied without the need for thought.

Clark went over to the counter where Lana was cutting a pie. "We'll have a cappuccino and..." He paused, considering, "A double chocolate mocha." He glanced over at the confections displayed in their little glass domes, "And a couple of those brownies."

Lana gave him a little half grin. "Sweet tooth today?"

Clark shrugged, "You only live once."

Lana gave a little nod, looking at him with amusement as she set down the knife and went over to get the order.

"Hey, Clark!" Chloe said as she tromped up beside him perkily.

He took one look at the clipboard in her hand and rolled his eyes, "What poll are you taking today?"

"I'm glad you asked!" She said with a chipper smile, "Considering the rash of hair dying at Smallville High recently, I thought I'd take a poll to find out what color the boys there really prefer. Just to kind of give the girls thinking about dying their hair something to consider when choosing a color. So, what color do _you_ prefer? Brown, black... _blond_...?" She asked, smiling and batting her eyelashes at him.

He glanced over, noting the way Lana was subtly listening and rolled his eyes. Why were these two capricious girls always trying to get him to give them some indication that he liked them better than the other? It was blatantly obvious this was a test, though a lamely disguised one. He just rolled his eyes and waited silently until Lana turned back, handing him the drinks and the requested brownies.

"Well, Clark? Inquiring minds want to know!" Chloe prompted, making it clear he wasn't getting away without answering.

"Come on." Lana prodded with a little mischievous smile, "It's just a survey, Clark."

He looked up at her, then over at Chloe, then gave them both a warm smile and said, "Well, it's no contest, really. I prefer redheads."

They both stared at him, their eyes going wide.

"I mean what guy _wouldn't?"_ He continued, "Sure, they may be a bit more temperamental, but they tend to be blunt almost to a fault. There's no guessing with them. They're straight forward, they say what they feel, and if they want to know what a guy is thinking or feeling they just _ask_. They don't play those maddening mind games all the time like some other girls do. We menfolk are simple creatures who prefer straight forward questions and honesty. I mean where's the honesty in trying to manipulate someone into saying what you want to hear? So, ya... definitely put me down for red."

With that he turned and headed back to where Lex was sitting, leaving the girls with their jaws hanging.

Though Lex didn't look over, there was a little smile on his lips. "That was cruel." he muttered under his breath as he accepted his drink.

Clark just chuckled, "They had it coming." he replied, keeping his voice low so only Lex could hear him. "I'm getting really sick and tired of their endless little trick questions and mental olympics. They want me, then they don't want me. I've never even officially dated either of them, and yet they both treat me like I'm a possessive ex-boyfriend. They have the absolute _worst_ taste in boys... I mean they are literally _freak magnets!_ And whenever I try to warn them that some guy they're interested in is bad news they instantly assume I'm just jealous. They take _anyone_ else's word over mine, though I have _never_ lied to either of them for jealous or petty reasons. It's ridiculous, really. I've come to the conclusion that women are insane."

Lex snickered. "You catch on quick!"

"They make it easy."

Lex leaned back, sipping his cappuccino. "You know, I was a redhead once upon a time." He mused.

Clark nodded, "I know. It was a brilliant shade of copper. It almost seemed to glow."

Lex looked over at him, furrowing his brow. His father had never cared for Lex's hair color, deeming it rather effeminate, so most (if not all) of his childhood pictures were printed in black and white. How could Clark possibly know what his hair had looked like? "You never saw me with hair."

Clark set down his mocha, gazing over at Lex. "I think I did once, actually. Kind of, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Lex asked curiously.

Clark shook his head, gazing at Lex. "I have this dream sometimes... and I think it's actually a memory. If it is, it's my first memory. I'm in the truck with my parents... it had to have been the day of the meteor shower, the day they were first bringing me home... you're beside me... someone's holding you, your father I suppose, but I'm not looking at him. You looked asleep. I just remember your head... it was bald except for this one little wisp of brilliant copper hair... it was the most beautiful color. I reached out and brushed my hand over your head. That's where the memory ends. Or dream. Whatever it was. My parents recently told me we _did_ drive you to the hospital that day. Your father ran out into the road and they stopped. He was muttering something about his son being hurt. Dad ran out into the field and got you, then we drove you to the hospital. They only told me that after I'd already had that dream a good half dozen times, so I'm pretty sure it was real."

Lex just gazed at him, not sure what to say. The idea that they had met before, all those years ago when they were both so much younger... it was just mind boggling! Why hadn't his father ever told him it was _the Kents_ that drove him to the hospital? And Jonathan Kent... he'd helped save Lex's life? He knew the doctors had said he would have died if he hadn't been rushed to the hospital so quickly. Sounded like Clark had just been carrying on a family tradition of saving Lex's life! But why did Jonathan hate him so much if he'd saved him? Did he wish he'd left him to die in that field all those years ago? He was broken out of his reverie by the feel of a large, warm hand brushing over his head.

"You have the most perfect head I have ever seen." Clark mused, gazing at the smooth skin beneath his fingers.

"Um... thanks." Lex said a bit uncomfortably, glancing around as he shifted his head away, "But I don't generally let people fondle it. Especially not in public." he said delicately.

Clark just dropped his hand, letting out a little chuckle, his sparkling blue eyes gazing at Lex without a hint of embarrassment.

"Are you feeling alright?" Lex asked tentatively.

"Never better. Don't worry about me." Clark replied merrily, dropping his hand down to pat Lex's knee before reaching over to grab up one of the brownies.

Lex stared at his knee where Clark's hand had been, then his eyes darted over to Clark. There was definitely something odd with Clark today. He usually avoided physical contact almost as much as Lex did. Then again, this was _Clark_. If there wasn't something odd going on with him it just wouldn't seem natural. Lex brushed it off, going back to sipping his drink.

Clark made a little sound like he'd just remembered something and quickly swallowed the bite of brownie in his mouth. "Oh, hey... that reminds me of this bumper sticker I saw once. It said something like 'God only made so many perfect heads – the rest he covered with hair'!" He said mirthfully.

Lex let out a little chuckle. "I'd never deface one of my cars with something like a bumper sticker, but if I ever decided to, that might be a good one to consider." He admitted.

Clark just grinned and nodded, offering the last brownie to Lex. Lex just shook his head, deferring. Though the brownies were huge, Clark's endless farm boy appetite let him rise to the challenge of polishing off that one as well.

As they sat in companionable silence, Lex's gaze drifted back out the window. Movement caught his eye. One of the boys who had left briefly returned and turned his back to the coffee house. The other two gathered around and Lex was pretty sure he had acquired something that he was distributing amongst them, most likely eggs or something of the kind. Then Jenkins looked to the side and patted his friends' arm. They quickly stuffed whatever it was away out of sight and looked over.

Lex followed his gaze. There was a man walking a bit unsteadily down the street, a large, half empty liquor bottle in his hand. The boys waited as the man walked nearer. The other two drifted back, leaning against the wall while Jenkins greeted the man. The man staggered to a halt. Jenkins spoke to him, and after a moment whatever he was saying made the man look towards the Talon.

Lex sighed irritably as he recognized the man. As he watched, the man turned, starting towards the Talon, his gate faster now, his expression angry.

This could get ugly.

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A/N – well, hope you are enjoying this. I intended this as a one-shot, but it got WAY too long to be one chapter, so I broke it up into chapters. I have it pretty much written already, but there are still some gaps to fill in and the rest is still rough and will need to be gone over several more times when I have the time before I can post it. As always PLEASE REVIEW! This is my first foray into this particular fandom. If I get a good response, there may be further potential stories (though not a continuation of this one, I mean other one-shots, perhaps more). I recently purchased all nine seasons of Smallville that are out. My son and I watched up to about season five or six some years ago, but that was all they had on DVD at the time and we forgot about it until now. I hate watching shows one episode at a time with a week between. DVDs have spoiled me : ) At any rate, we have started back at the beginning again, so I could see this series holding my interest for a while. Whether I put that interest into writing or not will most likely depend on how well this one is received. Sooooo... PLEASE REVIEW! :)


	2. Something Unexpected

A/N – this chapter contains adult situations.

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Chapter 2  
>Something Unexpected<p>

"Hey, Clark?" Lex asked quickly, "Would you do me a favor and go see if they have any blackberry Danish?"

Clark shrugged, setting down his drink and using the napkin to wipe the last brownie crumbs off his mouth, "Sure. Be right back."

"Take your time." Lex said, his eyes never leaving the approaching man. He'd glanced at the inventory ledger this morning, so he knew for a fact they were out of that type of Danish at the moment, but unless Lana went and got the ledger back out of her filing cabinet in her office she'd have to check in the back before she knew that. Hopefully he could deal with this before Clark got back.

Lex sipped his cappuccino as the man came in. The man wavered for a moment as he looked around, then started resolutely for Lex.

"There you are, you little bastard!" The man growled vehemently, coming to a stop a couple of paces from Lex.

"Hello, Mr. Fischer." Lex replied evenly.

"I have been a good, hard working, loyal employee! You had no right to go and just fire me like that!" He slurred angrily.

"You did several thousand dollars worth of damage to an essential piece of machinery and injured three of your fellow employees. I'd hardly call that 'no reason'!" Lex replied, keeping his voice low and reasonable.

"It was an accident! It coulda happened to anyone!" He growled defensively.

"Anyone with a blood alcohol level of point zero nine trying to operate a complex and potentially dangerous piece of machinery, yes."

"That had nothin to do with it! So I had a little bracer at lunch! I was fine!" he spat.

"OSHA would beg to differ." Lex replied, setting down his empty cup and folding his arms over his chest.

"Oh admit it, you were just looking for an excuse! You have something against hard working people who actually _earn_ their money instead of having it handed to them, don't ya?"

"If I was looking for a reason, the four anonymous reports from concerned coworkers of you being inebriated on the job would have been more than enough. If you had taken the offered counseling and cleaned up your act before people were hurt you wouldn't be unemployed." Lex said, an edge of irritation entering his voice.

"I'm not a damn alcoholic!" The man yelled furiously.

Lex flicked his watch up, consulting it. "Funny, it's barely ten thirty in the morning and you're already wasted. That sounds like an alcoholic to me."

"I lost my job! My wife's talking about leaving me! I have some pretty damn good reasons for drinking! That doesn't make me an alcoholic. That makes this _your_ fault!" He said, lifting up the bottle and shaking it around.

Lex sighed and stood up, dropping his voice. "Do yourself and your family a favor and seek counseling. Feeling sorry for yourself and trying to find other people to blame your problems on doesn't do anyone any good. Admitting you have a problem is the first step towards getting better. I sincerely hope you give it a try."

With that, Lex strode past him and on out the door. He was half way to his car when he heard Clark call out to him.

"Lex! Watch out!"

Lex turned, having only a split second to see the deranged looking man running at him, bottle poised to strike. He swung down and Lex flinched back, not having time to get out of the way. The bottle shattered against Clark's forearm, liberally spraying both of them with cheap vodka and broken glass.

Clark let out a surprised cry, dropping his arm and looking down, spotting a rip in his sleeve, blood quickly spreading from the cut that obviously lay beneath it.

Fischer staggered a couple of steps back in shock, not having meant to hit Clark, but held up what was left of the broken bottle, brandishing it like a blade.

Clark gritted his teeth, plucking a shard of glass out of his arm, then clamped his hand over the wound to slow the bleeding. He'd all but forgotten about the necklace. Perhaps it wasn't such a great idea to wear it after all!

Lex took one look at the blood and quickly shifted himself between Clark and his deranged assailant, putting his arm back and grabbing a hold of the front of Clark's shirt to keep him from going around him and getting between them again like he usually did.

"Don't do anything stupid, Fischer." Lex said, trying to keep his voice calm.

"That was your fault!" Fischer sputtered a bit desperately, his eyes wild, "He shouldn't of gotten in the way! You got him hurt!"

"No." Lex said firmly, "_You_ hurt him. You hurt those people at the plant, too. You need to stop blaming everyone else and man up! You're sick. A real man knows when to admit he needs some help."

"What's going on here?" The sheriff called out as she started shoving her way through the gathering crowd.

Fischer looked at her approaching, then darted his eyes back to Lex, obviously realizing this was his last chance. He started forward, but before he could reach Lex, Pete darted forward and cracked him on the back of the head with a small round tray.

The man crumpled to the ground, unconscious, the broken glass rolling out of his hand.

"Thanks." Lex said gratefully to Pete.

Pete gave a little snort. "Didn't do it for _you_, Luthor." He said as he pushed Lex out of the way. "Clark!" he said worriedly as he looked at his wounded friend.

"It's fine, Pete." Clark quickly assured him. "Just a scratch."

Lana hurried over, pulling a small white cleaning towel from where it'd been tucked in her apron. "Here. This one's clean." She said, offering it.

Clark let up the pressure for a moment to take the towel and press it to the wound. "Seriously, it's fine. Barely even hurts." He lied evenly. It hurt like Hell! Of course not being used to feeling any pain probably made pain seem all that much worse when he _did_ feel it. The burning of the cheap alcohol didn't help the situation either.

The sheriff slapped cuffs on the unconscious man, then looked over at Pete as she straightened up. "Taking after your friend now, are you, Mr. Ross?"

Pete just looked embarrassed and handed the now dented tray back to Lana.

"Well, Mr. Kent..." She said, noting the way he was clutching his arm and the bright red coloring the cloth. "You'll need to come with me. You need to stop by the hospital first?"

"Um... why would _I_ need to go with you?" Clark asked warily, "I didn't do anything!"

She rolled her eyes. "You got to fill out paperwork and I need to get your statement about what this guy did to you. Assault with a deadly weapon is a serious charge. Especially when someone's attacking a minor!"

"Oh... um... not me! That guy was attacking _Lex_, actually. I just... kinda got in the way." He said, shifting uneasily.

"Surprise, surprise." She drawled, "When _don't_ you, Mr. Kent?" She then turned her attention to Lex. "Will you be filing the charges then, Mr. Luthor?" She asked, noting the few small scratches on his face that had started oozing blood.

Lex gazed down at the man and sighed. "I tell you what... take him to the station and sober him up. If he agrees to seek help for his alcohol problem and completes the entire program no one will be pressing any charges." He said, then glanced back at Clark for confirmation.

Clark caught the look and quickly nodded in agreement.

"Since Mr. Kent here is a minor, I'll need his parents to sign off on that one." She replied, eyeing Lex appraisingly.

"I'll talk to them when we get home tonight and have them give you a call." Clark assured her.

"See that you do." She said sternly, "And get that arm taken care of!"

"Yes, ma'am." Clark replied with a nod.

"Mr. Luthor," She said, stepping aside and indicating the prone man, "Care to give me a hand getting this gentleman into my vehicle?"

"Certainly." Lex replied, making sure to carefully brush off the remaining glass before going over and helping her.

Pete shifted closer to Clark, asking in an urgent undertone, "How'd this happen?" indicating the cut.

"It's fine, Pete." Clark quickly whispered, "Really. I know why he could cut me, and once I get away from all these people I can heal myself up. I just have to get away from prying eyes and do it before someone gets a good look at the wound or it'll be hard to explain how the cut went away so quick. Can you make sure any blood left here gets taken care of?" he asked, dropping his eyes down to the pavement were a bit of his blood had dripped, bright crimson gleaming off the bit of broken glass that had been in his arm.

"Right!" Pete said, seeing the potential danger of exposure.

"Clark! God! Come back inside and sit down so I can take care of that arm! I have an emergency medical kit." Lana said as she hurried back, carrying a white case with a bright red cross on it.

"Really, don't bother, Lana." Clark quickly assured her. "It was just a surface scratch really, and I need to get cleaned up first anyway." He said, gazing down at his liquor soaked shirt. "Besides, I wouldn't want the Talon smelling like cheap booze."

"Clark..." She started in exasperation.

"It's ok, Lana." Lex said as he returned, "I'll take him back to the castle and see that he gets cleaned up and his wound tended to. My downstairs maid is attending nursing school. I'm sure she can handle it."

She obviously didn't like it, but she grudgingly conceded with a nod.

"That was intense!" Chloe said snapping off a few more pictures. "This is definitely front page material! Can I get a shot of your cut?"

"You are _not_ doing an article on this, Chloe!" Clark said firmly.

Chloe lowered her camera, pouting.

"No!" Clark said firmly, "That guy obviously has enough problems without you slandering him, even if it's only in a school newspaper. His _son_ goes to Smallville High! What would that do to _him?"_

"In print it's called _libel._" She muttered before sighing again and rolling her eyes in defeat. "Fine. You win. But you owe me an article for this, mister!" She said, wagging her finger at him.

"Whatever." He muttered, looking back down at his arm. It hadn't stopped bleeding. If he didn't get out of here soon, people were never going to believe it was just a little flesh wound.

"Come on, Clark." Lex said, gently patting him on the shoulder, "Let's get that taken care of."

Clark turned to follow him, but then stopped, realizing what a mess he was. "But I'd mess up your upholstery!"

Lex waved it off, hitting a button on his key chain to unlock the car, then another that rolled both of the windows all the way down. "Don't worry about it." He said, opening the door for Clark, "So I might need to reupholster it. I was toying with the idea of going a shade or two lighter anyway."

Clark shrugged off his trepidation and got in the car. Lex closed his door and hurried around, sliding into the driver's seat. He fastened his seat belt, then helped Clark when he fumbled with his own, trying hard to keep from getting blood on anything. Once they were settled Lex took off, gliding through the town. He kept throwing worried glances at the cloth Clark was holding and the bright scarlet that was slowly spreading across the white cloth.

"I'm fine, Lex. Really." Clark assured him.

"Of course you are." Lex said with a forced smile, "You're the invincible Clark Kent."

Clark flashed him a little smile, "Yep."

Lex gave the cloth one more glance, then shifted gears, "Let's get a little breeze going to clear out the fumes before we both get drunk off them." He said jokingly, kicking it up to well over the speed limit once they were out of town limits.

Lex zipped along, as recklessly fast as ever, but for once Clark could just enjoy it without worrying. He leaned closer to the window and closed his eyes, exhilarated by the feel of the wind raging past him. It was almost like _flying!_

All too soon Lex slowed, approaching the castle. Unfortunately, whether it was from the thick alcohol fumes wafting around them now that the breeze wasn't carrying them away or the unaccustomed bloodloss, Clark started feeling a bit lightheaded. Lex pulled up as close to the door as possible and parked, shooting a worried look at Clark, then hopped out and hurried around, opening Clark's door.

Clark blinked and looked up at him a bit dazedly, then realized he should unbuckle himself. Lex didn't wait. He leaned in to unbuckle the belt. Clark felt a strange sensation as Lex brushed him. He found himself closing his eyes and shifting his head forward a bit. Lex looked at him in surprise as Clark's head leaned against his chest.

"Clark?" He said worriedly, shifting back a bit and gently pushing him back against the seat to check and see if he'd passed out. Clark blinked his eyes back open. "You sure you're ok?" Lex asked, cautiously taking his hand away from Clark's chest.

"Just a bit dizzy for a second there." Clark replied, "Must be the fumes."

"Yes. Of course." Lex said, offering him a hand.

"I got it, thanks." Clark said, resolutely getting out of the car on his own. "Why people drink that foul stuff is beyond me."

"There are some fine examples of liquor, but what that man was drinking should definitely have been delegated to lighting camp fires and barbecue grills." Lex agreed with a forced smile, watching him like a hawk as they made their way in.

Clark didn't like to worry Lex like this... but at the same time he found himself secretly enjoying the open concern Lex had for him. Lex led him through the halls, towards the sleeping quarters. He pulled out his cell phone as he went. After a moment Clark heard a faint ringing sound somewhere in the distant recesses of the huge castle.

"Linda, I'm going to need your assistance." Lex said when the person on the other end of the line picked up. "My friend Clark Kent has been hurt. It's a cut. Might need stitches. We're already here and I'm taking him to the guest quarters across from my room. Can you get your med kit and meet us there? Great. Oh, and could you stop by the kitchen along the way and get him some fruit juice? He's lost a bit of blood. Thanks."

He slipped the phone back away.

"You call your maid on a cell phone when you're in the same building?" Clark asked mirthfully.

Lex let out an amused breath. "You ever try to find someone in this place? It's huge. Why spend ten or fifteen minutes searching when she carries a cell?"

"Good point." Clark said, smiling at him warmly. "Where is everybody, anyway? I usually have to duck at least two or three people before I get this far, and I haven't seen a soul."

"Well, I didn't expect to be here today. I was going to head to Metropolis after the market to draw up some paperwork, and the staff will have to be working overtime for a dinner I'm having here this week, so I gave them the day off. I give Linda some leeway in her hours, and she needed friday afternoon off, so she decided to work some today to make up for it." He glanced at his watch, "In fact, we were fortunate to get here this early. She's leaving soon. She has a weekend class for her nursing degree today."

"Well, good thing your attacker was gracious enough to work around her schedule, then." Clark said with amusement.

Lex didn't comment, his eyes flicking guiltily to the half red towel over Clark's arm, "In here." Lex said as they arrived at the room, "This room has its own full bathroom, so you can get cleaned up. Linda should be here in a moment. She's pretty quick."

Clark nodded, glancing around at the room. It would make an amazing master bedroom... and this was a guest room? He hadn't really been in this part of the castle much. He glanced back over at Lex, who was waiting there, glancing at his watch, then the door.

"Well, she'll be here any minute." Clark said reasonably, "Why don't you go ahead and go get cleaned up yourself? I'll be fine."

Lex looked torn, but Clark no longer looked faint, and there was really no reason for him to stay there. "Of course. I guess I should get to that. Just promise me you'll let her take care of you!"

"I promise." Clark said solemnly before cracking another smile, "Now go!"

Lex nodded, then left, leaving the door open behind him. Clark waited until he saw Lex enter his own room and close the door behind him, then hurried into the bathroom. He took the towel off his arm and carefully pulled his flannel off, wincing as it stuck to the wound a bit. Now that he could see it better he could easily tell it was a very bad cut that would normally have required a dozen or so stitches at the very least.

He quickly pulled off the necklace and set it on the edge of the sink, then grabbed the towel back up again to catch the fresh blood that was already dribbling down his arm. Watching the wound carefully, he backed up slowly. After about five feet, the wound started slowly healing. He stopped, watching the flesh knitting back together, but quickly stepped closer once again before the skin had a chance to seal. He inspected the wound carefully. It just looked like a nasty cut, but not a really serious one anymore.

"Hello?" A soft, feminine voice called from the bedroom. "Lex?"

Clark quickly snatched up the necklace and pulled it back on, then called back, "He's in his room."

A blonde in her early twenties poked her head in the bathroom cautiously. "You must be Clark." She said.

He nodded.

She came in carrying a medical kit that rivaled that of a paramedic. He was pretty sure that was even a defibrillator attached to the end of it. She was thin and petite, though she carried the obviously heavy case with ease. "Well, let's see this cut you have." She said, heaving the case up onto the counter beside the sink. She smiled at him and it lit up her somewhat impish face. She was quite lovely, really, almost like an actress or a model... except for the three inch scar on her cheek that marred her beauty.

"It's not bad. Just a scratch really." Clark said quickly, holding his arm up a bit warily so she could see it. "It bled a bit to begin with, but it's pretty much stopped bleeding now.

She moved closer, gingerly examining the wound. "What caused it?"

"A guy with a liquor bottle and a grudge." Clark said, flashing her what he hoped was a disarming smile.

"Well, in a way I'm glad that's why you smell like a brewery. Wouldn't want Lex getting in trouble for contributing to the delinquency of a minor." She said jokingly.

"Nope. Wouldn't want that." Clark agreed.

"Well, this doesn't looks so bad. With as upset as Lex sounded I feared it would be much worse." She said, turning back and opening her kit. She glanced down in the sink, spotting the blood soaked towel. "Oh... I see why he was concerned. That's an awful lot of blood for such a minor cut." She mused, pulling out what looked like a small flashlight. When she turned it on, it was startlingly bright. She held it out to Clark. "Could you hold this and point it at the wound?"

"Sure." Clark said, aiming the light obligingly. It lit it up like a spotlight. "Um... I still need to get cleaned up. Should I shower first?"

"Well, for the moment I'll just numb up the area and clean the wound. Something this shallow wouldn't normally need stitches, but since it bled so badly I think I'll put some butterfly tape on it just to be safe. After that you can take your shower, then I'll swab it with some antiseptic and cover it with some gauze. You should keep it covered until it knits together a bit, but be sure to keep it clean and dry and change the gauze regularly. I'll give you some extra antiseptic and gauze and show you how to wrap it."

"Um... ok, but I know how to clean and wrap it, so you don't need to bother waiting around on my account... and you don't need to numb it up!" Clark quickly added as he saw her reaching for a packaged needle. "It doesn't hurt much, and as long as you aren't going to be sewing me up I shouldn't need it."

"Tough guy, huh?" She asked with a smile, "Fine, but tell me if you change your mind. I promise I won't think any less of you."

Clark just nodded.

She put on a little white mask, then pulled on some latex gloves, picked up a pair of tweezers and went to work. Clark was surprised when she actually found five more slivers of glass, one of them nearly an inch long. "Ah," She said, looking that one over. "Perhaps one of these nasty little buggers was the cause of all the bleeding. Probably nicked a vein. Since it's stopped bleeding now it should be ok, but if you get any numbness, swelling or if it starts bleeding again either see a doctor or at the very least come back and see me, got it?"

Clark nodded again, "Yes, ma'am."

After that, she gently but efficiently cleaned the wound and the immediate area around it, then she gingerly patted it dry and applied what looked like vaguely butterfly shaped pieces of tape.

"Well," She said as she pulled off the gloves, "You can take your shower now. Try to be very gentle with that arm and I'd avoid getting soap on it. That'd probably hurt." She accepted her flashlight back and turned it off, then consulted her watch. "I've got a little over half an hour left before I have to leave for a class in case you need help bandaging that. Anything else you need help with before I leave?"

He looked up at her, a little imploring smile slipping over his lips.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

Lex sighed as he dried off, gazing in the mirror at the scratches on his face. They'd clotted almost immediately, and he knew they'd be all but gone in a day or two, but he couldn't help but wonder what he'd look like if Clark hadn't blocked that bottle. He was starting to think he was never going to get any respect in this town. For every person who was nice to him, there was another who'd like to stab him with their pitchfork or some other grisly country way of killing someone. If it weren't for people like Clark he would have given up on the people in this stubborn, unwelcoming town by now.

Still, it worried him how willing Clark was to put himself in harms way for him... and at the same time he couldn't deny it that deep down he loved it every time he did. He'd never known anyone who was so willing to risk their own life to protect him. Well, the odd bodyguard or two may have put themselves at risk, but that was for the exorbitant amount of money they were paid for it. Clark did it without ever asking or expecting any kind of repayment. In fact he steadfastly refused all payment of any kind. He did it because he actually _cared_ about Lex. The thought made Lex feel strange inside. It was a feeling so alien to him he didn't even understand it enough to be able to put into words, and yet he reveled in it.

Of course it would probably be wise to try to distance himself a bit before Clark ended up getting seriously injured. He couldn't stand the thought of something bad happening to Clark on his account. He hated the very thought of forcing emotional distance between them... and yet he knew it would be the best thing for Clark. Still, how to do it without hurting the young man emotionally? Lex couldn't even bring himself to imagine doing such a thing. It would take a completely cold, utterly heartless bastard to hurt Clark when he was looking at him with those innocent, crystal blue eyes.

Lionel could probably do it. Without batting an eye.

Lex took a deep breath and wrapped the towel around his waist. Not that he wanted to be anything like his father! He wandered out of his bathroom, lost in thought.

"For a guy with no hair, you sure take long showers."

Lex started, darting his eyes over and locating the source of the voice. Clark was lying casually on Lex's bed wearing nothing but a towel, his new bits of jewelry and a smile. Clark recapped an empty juice bottle and set it on the night stand, then just watched him with a smile.

"Um... I see Linda patched you up." Lex said, quickly turning his gaze to the wardrobe, though he stayed where he was.

"Yep." Clark said, raising his arm so Lex could see the gauze wrapped around it. "Good as new. She said it wasn't bad, really. Wasn't even bleeding anymore by that point. She just cleaned it and kinda taped it together just to be safe. Didn't even need stitches."

"Well, that's good." Lex replied, "But don't you think you should get dressed?"

Clark let out a little amused breath, "I would, but I don't have any clean clothes. I talked Linda into running out to the farm and picking up a fresh set before she had to leave for class. Hope that's ok...?"

"Of course. Sorry I didn't think of it myself. I doubt any of my clothes would fit you."

"No offense, but probably not." Clark agreed.

"Did you remember to give her the key so she could get in?"

Clark laughed, "We don't lock the doors during the day. Heck, half the time we forget to even at night!"

Lex couldn't help but smile. He forgot how trusting they tended to be out here.

"Hey, come here and sit down." Clark said, patting the bed beside him. "I was hoping we could talk while I'm waiting for her to get back."

Lex glanced over, shifting a bit uneasily, unsure how to delicately phrase an objection to that, though he knew there were many that could be made.

"Oh, come on." Clark teased, "I don't bite. Scout's honor! And it'll take her a while to get over to the farm, get the clothes and get back, so she's not going to walk in and see you in a towel."

That, of course, hadn't been Lex's concern. Linda had seen him in far less, though he didn't feel it prudent to mention that to Clark at the moment.

"Please?" Clark implored, turning on his patented soft, pleading charm, "There's something I really do want to talk about... and it's not really something I can talk to anyone _else_ about."

Like he could really resist Clark when he was pleading! Lex sighed and went over, carefully arranging his towel as he took a seat beside Clark on the bed. "Ok, Clark." He said as he settled back against the decoratively piled pillows. "What is it?"

Clark sifted around, now a bit uneasy as he tried to decide how to begin. "Have you... have you ever known someone for a long time and you're just friends... and then one day, for some reason something changes out of the blue and you suddenly... see them _differently?"_

Lex smiled as he realized what this was probably about, "You've found someone new to lust after, haven't you?"

Clark gave him a bashful grin, dropping his eyes.

"I should have known." Lex said, "Teenaged boys don't generally brush off their two best prospects unless they have their eye on someone else. Don't tell me... a redhead?"

Clark grinned, "Kinda." He muttered with a little half shrug.

"And does this special 'kinda redhead' have any idea how you're feeling?" Lex asked playfully.

Clark looked over at him, staring for a moment, then said, "I really doubt it. We've just been strictly friends so far. I'm not really even sure how to broach the subject... or if I _can_ for that matter. I really value our friendship, and messing up and losing that would kill me." he said sincerely.

Lex patted his shoulder comfortingly, "It can be hard when they're a good friend." He conceded, "Admittedly, there is a good deal of risk with trying to shift a friendship into a romantic relationship... but there's also the potential for far greater rewards than you could imagine. If you're looking for something that can last, finding a friend you can love might be the best thing that ever happened to you. Even if this friend doesn't end up feeling the same way, if you're upfront and honest about your feelings at least they'll know and be able to make that decision. And even if it doesn't work out, I think you'll still be able to remain friends. After all, who could resist that Clark Kent charm?" He asked, reaching over and ruffling Clark's wet hair playfully. "Point is, you'll never know until you try! Like I've been telling you since we met, you can't just sit around pinning away in silence or the moment will pass you by like it did with Lana and Chloe. Take a chance for once, Clark. Seize the day!"

Clark looked over at him, obviously tempted, but still hesitant, "You really think I should?" He asked softly.

"I think you'll be wondering 'What if?' for the rest of your life if you don't." Lex replied sincerely.

Clark mulled that over for a moment, then a little smile slipped over his lips as he looked up at Lex again.

Lex suddenly found Clark straddling his lap, his face mere inches from his own. "Whoa! What is this?" Lex asked in surprise.

"This is me seizing the day!" Clark replied in a softly growling voice before shifting forward, forcefully claiming Lex's lips.

Lex's head spun from shock... and the far more experienced than expected way Clark was plundering his mouth. The way Clark's tongue snaked across his own sent a shudder of desire through him. Lex managed to turn his head away, breaking the kiss. "Clark! What are you doing?"

"I'm no expert," Clark panted, pressing against him and grazing his lips across Lex's jugular as he spoke, "But I'd say rounding second and heading for third." he muttered in an amused voice before starting to kiss his neck while his hand slid down between them.

"Clark!" Lex said urgently, grabbing his wrist and stopping it. "Clark, I had no idea you meant _me!_ This is insane!"

Clark chuckled softly against him, still brushing and nuzzling his neck, "Come on, Lex. I've seen the old tabloids from your younger years. Chloe has an entire archive of your greatest hits. I'd hardly be the first boy in your bed and we both know it."

"I was a teenager! And we were the same age!" He quickly added, having to hold Clark's wrist firmly to keep it from travelling, "But it was just a phase! Everyone experiments to some extent when they're coming of age and trying to figure out who they are."

"Then this is normal for me to be doing. Don't you want to help me discover myself?" Clark murmured teasingly against him.

"You're only sixteen!" Lex said a bit desperately, "I'm an adult. We can't!"

Clark let out an amused breath, making Lex shiver. "The age of consent in Kansas is sixteen. There aren't any age difference rules, either. I checked it on the internet when I was thinking about taking things further with Lana. This is perfectly legal. Besides, it's not like I'm ever going to tell anyone." Clark gently kissed his neck again, then said softly, "Are you going to try to tell me you've honestly never even thought about this?"

"Never." Lex said without hesitation. "You're my friend, Clark. Probably the best friend I've ever had. I would never even think about doing anything that would jeopardize that friendship. It means too much to me."

"Well, now it's mutual, so giving in to these desires shouldn't jeopardize anything, should it? You just told me that being with a friend could be the best thing possible. Ever since I met you I've felt a bond between us. I feel stronger for you than I have for any other person I've ever met. Lana and Chloe... it was just confused feelings of friendship, lust and the need to protect them. And let me tell you, those two need full time protecting! But with you..." he groaned, gently grinding himself against Lex, "I can't explain it. It's not just simple friendship. Pete could even sense it, which is probably why he's been so dead set against you and I being friends. He has always been my best friend... but the minute you came along... I just can't help my feelings for you. I never understood why I felt so drawn to you. I think I do now." He said, reclaiming his lips.

Lex couldn't think up any more viable excuses to stop. Especially not with the way Clark was kissing him and undulating up against him, his hot, bare skin pressed up against him. Clark's hand escaped his grasp and quickly slipped down, finding its way into his towel.

Clark broke the kiss, chuckling softly against Lex as he ran his fingers along him. "Still going to try to claim you don't want this?"

"I... I _can't_..." Lex breathed, though his eyes were filled with lust, "Please understand, Clark."

Clark smiled as he looked at him. It wasn't too hard to understand the conflicting desire and sense of propriety in his expression. "Then let _me_." He whispered huskily.

Lex just closed his eyes as Clark shifted over, opening the drawer in his night stand and rummaging through the supplies Lex always kept there. He kept his eyes clenched shut as he felt the pillows being moved around and his towel being unfastened. He knew he should leave, or at the very least make some kind of real effort to stop this... but he just couldn't make himself do it. With surprising strength, Clark lifted and flipped him over and Lex found himself laying face down across his bed, a couple of thick pillows propping up his hips. He tensed as he felt Clark straddle his thighs.

That finally broke Lex out of it. He quickly reached back, pressing his palm flat against Clark's stomach as Clark tried to shift closer. "Clark, please!" Lex said a bit desperately, "There are certain things that you can never take back... that you can never undo. This is definitely one of them!"

"I know." Clark replied, gently taking the hand and shifting it up next to Lex's head. He then took hold of both of Lex's wrists, holding them down to the bed, "I don't want to take this back. _Please_, Lex..." He breathed imploringly, nuzzling the back of his neck and kissing it gently.

God! If anyone ever found out he'd had sex with a sixteen year old farm boy he could kiss his company and any future job prospects goodbye! Legal or not, the press would crucify him! That is if Jonathan Kent and his shotgun didn't take care of him first! He knew that this would be social, political and perhaps even _actual_ suicide... so why did he find himself silently giving in, letting his body loosen up?

Clark didn't ask why. He just released one of his wrists long enough to situate himself, then pressed in.

Lex couldn't help the little cry of surprise that escaped him. Jesus! He was hung like a horse! He'd always suspected Clark was probably well endowed, but it felt like he'd split Lex in half any moment, and he just kept pressing deeper and deeper! Luckily Clark had been cautious, if anything having used a bit too much lubricant. Lex let out a little relieved breath when Clark's hips finally pressed against him. It felt like he was just short of nudging his lungs!

Clark groaned deeply, dropping his head down and resting it on the pillow just over Lex's left shoulder. Then he started moving. He moved slowly at first, making Lex's head spin with pleasure and desire. Lex was tempted to tell him to speed up, but from the rate at which Clark's thrusts were increasing he had no doubt he would soon get his wish without even asking.

"God, this feels so good..." Clark moaned blissfully.

Lex knew he shouldn't be enjoying this, but he couldn't keep himself still as he pressed up to meet him, already groaning and panting.

Clark shifted up some, resting his weight on his arms and started thrusting harder. His ardent thrusts quickly started shaking the sturdy bed, making it creak in time with him.

Lex let out a sudden pained sound, pulling against Clark's grip on his wrists. Clark realized he'd started squeezing a bit and quickly released them, planting his hands on the bed instead without even breaking his rhythm.

Clark tried with all his might to keep control of himself. He didn't want to hurt Lex... but it felt so incredible! He hoped those pillows helped cushion Lex, because the pleasure racing through him quickly became too much to allow many other thoughts into his head. Lex kept crying out, shuddering and jerking under him, but he didn't hear pain, so he just enjoyed it, hoping it was normal.

Lex was on the verge of losing consciousness by the time Clark finally showed signs of getting close. Lex had already finished several time by that point. He ignored the pain in his wrist, just focusing on the feel of Clark's wilds thrusts. He wanted to feel him finish more than he'd ever admit. Suddenly Clark rammed himself painfully deep as he finally reached completion. Lex clutched handfuls of the comforter beneath him and cried out as he shook and finished again as well, pushed over the edge once more by the unbelievable feel of it.

As Clark came slowly back down he slumped down, resting heavily on Lex. Lex loved the feel of his weight on top of him... but it wasn't making it any easier to catch his breath. Clark noticed his somewhat ragged gasping after a moment and lifted himself off him, then shifted over to the side of him.

"You ok?" Clark panted worriedly.

"Jesus, Clark..." Lex gasped with a little smile, rolling over onto his side facing him and rubbing his belly gingerly, "Anyone ever tell you that you fuck like a jackhammer?"

Clark flashed him a little embarrassed smile, glad he appeared to be ok, "Nope. That was my first time."

Lex let out a dismayed breath, closing his eyes. He'd taken Clark's virginity. It was even worse than he'd thought. He'd been sure at least one of those girls would have let him get a little action by now, but apparently not. No wonder he'd been so eager!

He opened his eyes again and glanced down. Grimacing at the mess he'd made on the pillow, he just picked it up and tossed it off the bed, then tossed the still clean (but now rather flat) bottom one back up with the others. He gingerly propped himself up, then shifted over and opened the drawer again, pulling out a container of sanitary wipes he kept there for when he didn't want to get out of bed after sex. He pulled a couple out and handed them to Clark before taking some for himself. He glanced down at Clark's flagging arousal. Even now it was obvious Clark would need even larger condoms than he had on hand. Lex had always considered himself well hung, being about as big as would still fit comfortably in an extra large sized condom, but Clark easily had several inches on him, not to mention he was thicker. "Guess my condoms didn't fit you either." He mused.

Clark glanced down, then blushed a bit and he quickly cleaned off the lube. He hadn't even realized they probably wouldn't fit him. He just hadn't thought they'd have worked with him, so he hadn't bothered. He finished a bit too hard for some little micro-thin bit of latex to hope to contain it. He didn't think it was hard enough to hurt flesh, but a condom stood little chance. "Sorry." he muttered.

"I've never had unprotected sex before." Lex mused, tossing the used wipes absently towards the waste basket next to the bed, then settling back down on the bed. "When you finished... I never imagined it would feel like that. I always figured it'd feel pretty much the same."

"I was a virgin, though, so you don't have to worry." Clark quickly assured him, tossing his wipes as well.

Lex gave him a little smile. "It's not _myself_ I'm worried about. I'm pretty sure I'm clean!" He quickly added as Clark's eyes flicked to him, "I mean I get checked on a regular basis, and like I said, I always use protection... but unlike you, I'm _far_ from a virgin... and nothing's certain nowadays. Nothing's a hundred percent safe. I couldn't live with myself if I gave you something. Well, at least it's less likely you'd catch something even if I had it since I was the one on the receiving end."

Clark nodded, feeling relief. He'd never even thought about the possibility of disease. Could he even catch a STD? Maybe with that necklace on. It probably weakened his immune system too. He hadn't thought about that aspect.

"You still so certain that was a good idea?" Lex asked softly after a minute.

Clark looked over at him, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "That was the most amazing thing I've ever felt." he said sincerely, shifting forward and gently reclaiming Lex's lips as he pulled Lex up against him. After a moment he let up on his lips and shifted over a bit, nuzzling up to him, "And I'm glad it was with you."

Lex smiled, closing his eyes and pressing against him. God, it felt so good just holding him! He'd been honest when he'd said he never thought of Clark in any kind of sexual way. Well, yes, he'd noted that Clark was the epitome of masculine beauty... but that was a given, wasn't it? He'd never seen a more perfect specimen. Of course silently admiring the aesthetics of the boy and imagining doing anything like this with him were two entirely different things. Still, he'd always felt a pull... the need to be near him... to make contact... to connect with him in some way. Not sexually... just touching his arm, brushing his cheek, resting his hand on his back... and the almost overwhelming desire to hold him whenever Clark was upset or sad about something. He'd fought it of course and maintained his distance, hardly ever allowing himself to so much as brush Clark in passing. And yet now... finally touching him... holding him... it felt like this is how it was meant to be. He'd never felt this strongly about anyone else before. And to feel Clark holding him... to feel his desire for closeness returned at last... it was indescribable.

At that moment he couldn't imagine his future without Clark. The whole dynamic of their relationship had changed, and yet this was somehow absolutely perfect. The world and its social and political mores be damned!

He couldn't help but wonder if Clark felt the same. He could only pray he did. The way he was just holding him, content to lay there and nuzzle Lex's neck gave him hope. He closed his eyes, knowing such hopes would probably just end up letting him down and crushing him if he tried to hold on to them... and yet they didn't seem to want to go away.

Clark let out a little amused breath, shifting away a bit and looking down, "Wow... you really are completely hairless, aren't you?" He asked, brushing his fingers over where Lex's pubic hair should be.

"Eyebrows and eyelashes. That's it. Not another hair anywhere." Lex replied, watching his face. Most people found that freakish.

Clark's smile grew as he ran his hand up Lex's hairless chest, then slipped it around to his back and pulled him closer again. He slipped his hand down to his butt, pulling his hips closer until they were flush against each other again. "I like it." Clark purred, "They may call chest hair 'manly', but I've personally always thought it looked kind of gross. God I hope I don't end up getting any." He muttered as he went back to dusting light kissed across Lex's shoulder and neck.

Lex closed his eyes, realizing Clark probably wasn't even old enough for chest hair yet. What the Hell was he doing with a boy this young? Clark's hands started exploring once more and Lex quickly pushed such thoughts away. The point was moot now, so dwelling on it wasn't doing anyone any good. He just concentrated on the feel of Clark's body... God was it perfection!

They lay there for a long time, just enjoying the feel of their bodies pressed together, their hands gently exploring each other. Lex shifted his head over and captured Clark's lips once more. Clark parted his lips invitingly and Lex took the opening. As their lips and tongues did a slow, blissful dance, Lex could feel the desire rising once more. It wasn't difficult to tell Clark was feeling it as well. He reached down and stroked him. He felt so solid and strong! He stole a glance down, wanting to see it in its full glory. It was beautiful, just like he knew it would be. At least twelve and a half inches long and wonderfully thick. Lex quickly returned to Clark's waiting lips, gently stroking him as their tongues danced.

After a few minutes of slowly escalating passion, Lex finally broke the kiss. He shifted away just far enough to be able to gaze at him. "Well, I already committed the crime... I've already proven myself to be the depraved monster everyone has always believed me to be." Lex murmured softly, releasing Clark long enough to roll back and reach into the still open drawer, fishing out a condom. He rolled back, then gently pushed Clark onto his back and rolled over on top of him, grinning down at him wickedly, "I might as well teach you a thing or two before the angry mob of townsfolk gets here and burns the castle to the ground to kill the beast that dwells here."

Clark felt a tingle of anticipation go through him as Lex kissed him again, taking his mouth slowly, but passionately. Luckily, Clark's equipment generally tended to press against his stomach when he was excited... otherwise he'd probably be propping Lex up like a kick stand right about now! Not to mention ripping through his jeans any time one of the girls got him going!

Clark's head started spinning with desire as he felt Lex shifting around a bit. Though Lex never broke the kiss, Clark was pretty sure he was already putting the condom on. Having sex like they just did had been one thing... it was pretty much the same as it would have been with a girl... but he'd never even thought about letting another man have sex with him! The very idea scared him, and yet he couldn't deny the little trill of desire at the thought. Lex seemed to enjoy it when Clark was doing that to him... and he wanted to be with Lex every way possible.

He was a bit surprised when Lex didn't turn him over. He just kept kissing him ardently as he shifted Clark's legs up to either side of him. Clark's stomach trembled nervously as he felt warm lubricant rubbing gently against him. Lex finally broke the kiss, shifting up a bit and gazing down into his eyes.

"Relax, Clark." He said softly. "Just trust me. Let me in."

Though he was still scared, Clark willed his body to relax. He felt Lex gently pressing against him, patiently coaxing him. Suddenly he was in. Clark made a little surprised sound. It was a sensation unlike anything he'd ever felt before... not unpleasant or painful... but strange. Lex pressed further in and suddenly a moan escaped Clark as pleasure blossomed inside him. Clark closed his eyes and jerked his hips up, burying Lex in him completely. Lex shifted down more, resting his weight on his elbows as he started to move.

Clark usually took longer the second time when he was just jerking off at home, but he could feel the pleasure escalating even faster this time than it had when he'd taken Lex. By the time Lex had gotten into a good, steady rhythm, Clark was already trying to fight down his peak. He didn't want to finish too soon, but it was really difficult to hold off while he was feeling Lex pour his passion into him with such vigor... and the way Lex's smooth, perfect head pressed up against Clark's cheek, Lex's hot breath coursing over Clark's collarbone with every pant and groan. And God, the sounds he was making! Clark was sure he was making some interesting sounds of his own, but all he could hear was Lex.

After a few minutes Lex shifted up, moving his knees up under Clark's legs to give himself better leverage. He took a hold of Clark's hips, holding him so he could push harder.

"God, you're like a vice!" Lex grunted blissfully.

Worry trickled into Clark's mind as he started wondering if this was safe. Even with this necklace around his neck, he was far stronger than the average human. If he was already so tight, what would happen when he finished? It's not like he had any real control of his body when that happened. Where his muscles strong enough to crush him? He fought down his approaching climax with renewed determination.

"Lex, please..." Clark begged when he felt himself starting to lose the fight, "Please... I can't hold off any more!"

The plea was enough to drive Lex almost instantly over the edge. He rammed himself into Clark, letting out a cry of ecstasy.

Clark bit his lip hard, managing to hold off until Lex's peak had passed, then reached down, quickly but as gently as he could shoving Lex's hips away so he slipped out of him. Once he felt him leave his body, he let go, crying out with abandon as he crashed over the edge.

When he finally came back down enough to think coherently once more, he shifted his head up to see what had become of Lex.

Lex was half sprawled back on the bed, propped up by his right arm and staring at Clark in wonder, looking a bit stunned. His eyes tracked up, fixing on something on the wall.

Clark looked up, then blushed brightly as he saw the glistening splotches on the wall a good three feet above the high headboard of the bed. "Um... sorry about that." he muttered, mortified.

Lex broke into a little smile, then crawled over, though Clark noted he wasn't using his left hand at all. Lex settled himself down on top of Clark. "No wonder I could feel that so much."

Clark's blush tried valiantly to darken even further.

Lex shifted down more, letting his nose brush Clark's. "You know... I wouldn't mind feeling that again..."

Clark glanced over at the clock, then a smile spread across his face as he gently reclaimed Lex's lips. They had about five hours before he was expected back in town. He had a pretty good idea how he wanted to spend that time...

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

A/N – Well, that got a bit more graphic than I expected! What can I say? These two boys are randy ones! :) Please review!

BTW - Believe it or not, pink kryptonite is CANON. It is only mentioned once in passing in Supergirl Volume four issue 79, but it is real. It's cute. If you'd like to see it yourself, just Google "Pink kryptonite" in Google images and the comic panel comes right up. It's Superman leaning against the desk at the Daily planet hitting on Jimmy while Supergirl and Lois Lane are talking in the background about how odd he's acting. Of course, since it was only a brief passing mention I reserve artistic license to interpret the exact nature of the effects :)


	3. Remorse

Chapter 3  
>Remorse<p>

Clark stirred, groggily realizing he'd fallen asleep. He felt exhausted, but pleasantly so. He could feel the necklace wedged under the side of his neck. It was irritating, and he knew he could relieve his exhaustion simply by taking it off and getting it away from him... and yet it made him feel so pleasantly normal. Besides, that would require too much moving around, and he felt just perfect right where he was. He was spooned up against Lex's warm body in a delightfully intimate way. Lex had shown him positions he'd never even realized two guys could use. Of course he'd never given sex between two guys much thought before... or any thought really. When Lex had straddled him and rode him like a girl would in that female dominant position he'd heard about? That had been awesome! The best part had been getting to watch him the whole time! But by far his favorite had been the last one. They'd both been tired, but unwilling to waste what little time they had left. Lex had shown him how to take him while they lay side by side, spooned up together. It was slow and passionate. When they were done they'd just stayed there, joined together blissfully until they'd fallen asleep like that.

Clark would love nothing more than to lay there, remembering all the ways he'd been with Lex... or better yet, waking him up and adding to the count... but he had his wits about him enough to realize he'd get in trouble if he was late. Not to mention the even bigger fear of having his father come looking for him and find them together like this! That was enough to quash his reviving libido and get him moving! He cracked his eyes open. The first thing he saw was that odd bump on the back of Lex's otherwise perfect head. He smiled, shifting forward and giving it a little kiss, then shifted his head up, gazing past him to the clock.

Clark sighed deeply. He hadn't slept for more than half an hour or so, but that only left him about twenty minutes to get back into town to help his mother close up her booth. He gave Lex's shoulder a kiss, avoiding the handprint shaped bruise he accidentally left there while taking him from behind the second time. Or had that been the third? He couldn't remember. He'd taken him at least half a dozen times. Lex had only taken him a couple more times, but that was more because of Clark's worries about Lex's safety... _and_ the fact that he'd only had three condoms in his drawer.

"Lex." He said softly, "I have to get going."

Lex shifted a bit, but didn't wake.

"Lex!" Clark said a bit louder, giving Lex's shoulder a gentle shake.

Lex grimaced and let out a little, pained sound, but his eyes never opened.

Clark's eyes widen in alarm and he quickly shifted away. His breath caught in his chest as he looked him over, seeing the alarming number of bruises that had started raising on his previously pristine skin. He gently pulled Lex's shoulder towards him so he'd roll onto his back, then stared down at his body in horror.

Bruises dotted him rather liberally, most looking to have been caused by Clark's hands. There were even several more full hand prints in addition to the one on his shoulder. There was one on his upper right arm, what looked to be several overlapping on each of Lex's hips, and a partial handprint on his lower stomach that Clark was pretty sure was from when he'd pushed him away the first time. There was also a more generalize bruising along Lex's lower ribcage, and his wrists were both bruised, the left one swollen as well.

Clark quickly shifted to X-ray vision and gasped in dismay. Several of the bones in the left wrist were broken, five of his ribs were cracked and his spine wasn't properly aligned. He let out a pained breath, clenching his eyes shut. How could he have done this? He was always so careful! His eyes shot open and he looked down at the bracelet on his wrist, the tiny red stone gleaming up at him as if mocking him. He pulled it off and tossed it across the room. He was a bit surprised when it just hit a cushion on the chair across the room and bounced off onto the floor instead of embedding itself in the wall, but he was too distracted by Lex's condition to care.

He watched him, making sure he was breathing freely, then placed his hand gently on his chest, feeling his heart beating strong and steady. At least there was that, but the obvious damage he'd done along with Lex's continued unconsciousness terrified him. He got up, circling and pacing as he thought furiously. He should call nine one one, but he knew Lex would be furious with him if he did. He'd also have a really hard time explaining away the injuries, not to mention the bit of chafing from the rather extended screwing session. The hospital was also sure to take samples, assuming from his condition that Lex had been raped... which admittedly it looked like. He was sure any sample of Clark's bodily fluids they found would be enough to expose his secret... and God knows Lex was probably quite full of that by now! Not to mention that it would prove he'd had sex with a 16 year old boy, which as Lex had pointed out wasn't exactly kosher with most people. Lex's reputation would be ruined... and Clark would be hauled off to area 51 or something! That damn little red stone had made him forget all about the possibility of what he might leave behind if he had sex with Lex!

But his secret be damned, he wasn't going to let Lex suffer for it! He'd just tell them he raped Lex so Lex wouldn't get in trouble for what they'd done. Clark knew he was going away where no one would ever find him again anyway. Maybe he should call it in, hide and make sure Lex was alright, then just leave. Take off and never look back. It'd hurt his parents and friends, yes... but it was bound to happen sooner or later anyway. Admittedly he'd hoped for much, much later...

He looked around for a phone, but Lex didn't appear to have one in his bedroom. He probably depended on his servants to answer the phone while he was asleep. Then Clark remembered Lex's cell. He looked around for it, then hurried into the bathroom. It was sitting on the counter by the sink along with Lex's wallet and other odds and ends from his pockets. He gently grabbed it up, worried he'd crush it he was so panicked. He stared at the phone, realizing he'd never dialed nine one one on a cell phone before. Did you need to put in the area code first or something? He was about to try it when he remembered when he'd seen Lex use this last. Maybe Linda could help him!

He scrolled through the list of contacts, but there were hundreds! And Lex had never mentioned Linda's last name. Clark was getting frustrated, but then realized he was being stupid. He went to call history and clicked on the last call sent, then hit the send button again.

He waited tensely as the phone rang. He didn't realize until after it started ringing that Lex might have called someone else while he was getting cleaned up.

"Hello?" A soft, feminine voice answered.

It sounded like her... _please let it be her_ he prayed. "Linda?"

There was a little shift, like she was moving the phone away from her head for a moment, then her voice returned with a little amusement, "This must be Clark. I see you found Lex's cell. I left your clothes on the bed of the room you were _supposed_ to be in when I got back." She said, her tone making it quite apparent she knew where he'd gone and what they had been doing, "I was just heading back to the castle to see if you boys needed some dinner whipped up. You need help with your bandage after all?"

"No, this is about Lex." Clark said quickly, looking over at Lex. He still hadn't moved. "Listen, he's hurt. He won't wake up. I don't know what to do!" He said trying to fight down his panic.

"What happened? Is he bleeding?" She said, her voice suddenly sharp and business-like.

"No..." Clark said, looking over at him again, "I don't think so... no... he's just... he's... got some bruises... and..." He stammered, mortified that he had to admit what he'd done. "I think he might have a broken wrist... maybe some cracked ribs."

"Oh Jesus!" She said in a pained voice.

"But he's breathing just fine and his heartbeat seems strong." Clark offered quickly.

"I'll be there in just a few minutes." She said, obviously not taking much solace from his attempted reassurances. "Get my medical kit from the room across the hall, then keep an eye on him and call me _immediately_ if anything changes, you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am." Clark replied immediately.

She hung up without another word.

Clark started for the door, but then realized he was naked. He went over, snatching up one of the discarded towels and quickly tucked it around his waist, taking the other and draping it over Lex's middle, then hurried across the hall and retrieved the medical case. He pulled over a spare chair and set the bag in it so it would be close to the bed, then gazed down at Lex. He moved closer, sitting on the side of the bed, careful not to jar the unconscious man. He reached over, gently stroking his cheek, his heart aching in his chest.

Clark had never hated himself and his accursed 'gifts' more than he did at that moment. His dearest friend lay there before him, battered and broken... and it was all his fault! He couldn't even make love without nearly killing the person he was trying to share himself with. What kind of a monster was he? Certainly not one who belonged on this planet. He'd never fit in with these fragile people... the only people he knew... the only family he knew.

It was only four minutes before Linda arrived, but they were the longest minutes Clark could ever remember experiencing.

He quickly stood as she entered the room. She hurried over, looking down at Lex with a pained expression on her face. She quickly sat down beside him, starting to check his vital signs.

Clark just stood there, watching her working, worry gnawing at his stomach.

She pulled the towel out of the way and let out a little involuntary sound of dismay and fear. She very gingerly ran her fingers over the dark bruising on Lex's hip, the shape of the bruise unmistakable. After a moment she noticed he was still there. There was a flash of anger in her eyes, though she carefully kept it out of her voice, "You should go and get cleaned up and dressed." She said stiffly before going back to her examination.

Clark ducked his head down in shame, but hurried off to do as he was told. It was obvious she blamed him, and she was perfectly justified in that belief. He took his time, trying to calm himself as he cleaned himself up and dressed in the clothes she had brought for him. It was slow to register that his old clothes and the blood soaked towel had been taken away. Undoubtedly she had taken them when she brought the fresh clothes. He should be worried about what she'd done with them... but at this point it seemed moot to try to hide all traces of his DNA. Besides, he was so numb from shock it didn't really seem to matter anymore.

His keys and what was left of his money were sitting on the sink counter. He picked them up and shoved them away in the pocket of his new pants without thinking about it. That done, he went back over to Lex's bedroom, hesitating outside the door. He wasn't sure he could handle seeing Lex like that again.

"I can't tell for sure." He heard Linda's voice saying.

He shifted over, looking through the crack in the door, hoping that meant Lex was awake. No such luck. She was pacing back and forth, talking on her cell phone. "He has some tenderness and swelling in the abdominal region. I'm afraid there might be some internal bleeding."

That sent a fresh shot of horror through Clark.

"I know, I know, and we can take him there if he is," She continued, "But you know how he is about using public facilities if it can be avoided. If you could just take a look at him, I would really appreciate it." She paused, putting her hand to her forehead, "That long?" She breathed worriedly, "No, no... I'm sorry. I understand. That would be fine. I just... I'm only half way through my schooling, and this is _way_ out of my league. Ok, yes, I'll try. Thank you."

Clark's heart felt like there was a huge fist clenched around it. It didn't help when he saw her wiping away a tear of frustration and worry. It was quite obvious she cared more about Lex than a typical employee would. His hand accidentally brushed the edge of the door, making the hinge creak slightly. Not wanting her to think he'd been eavesdropping, he pulled open the door as if he'd just gotten there.

"Um... how is he?" He asked softly.

"I don't know." She said, fighting a bitter edge, "The doctor should be here in a bit. I'll just have to see what he thinks."

Clark shifted around uncomfortably, not sure what he should say. "I... I really didn't mean to hurt him." He said in a soft, pained voice. "I... I didn't even realize I had. I mean I knew he was hurt some, but I didn't think it was so... he... he never said anything..." He stammered. He didn't know how to convey how truly sorry he was about this. He wanted her to know he would have stopped if he'd known, but then he realized it would just sound like he was making excuses or trying to shift blame to relieve his guilty conscience.

She folded her arms over her chest, just staring pointedly down at Lex. "Maybe you should leave now." She said in a carefully even voice.

Clark dropped his eyes in shame.

Lex stirred. She dropped her guarded stance and quickly shifted back down onto the side of the bed.

"Lex?" she said softly, gently stroking his cheek.

His head shifted towards her and his eyes blinked open, though they didn't open very wide. "Linda?" He muttered, "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to figure out how to patch you back up, you stubborn idiot!" She said with a forced smile and a slightly teasing tone.

He let out a little amused breath, then winced as his ribs ached. "Don't worry about me. I'm just tired." He muttered. His eyes trailed past her, moving a bit sluggishly. They came to rest on Clark.

"I'm sorry." Clark said in an agonized whisper.

"For what?" Lex asked, though he looked to be fighting to maintain consciousness.

"For this." Clark said, "For all of this. I never should have touched you. This was all a mistake. A horrible mistake." He said before turning and rushing out the door.

Lex's eyes widened a bit more, "Clark!" He called after him, though his voice couldn't manage to rise much above normal speaking level. He tried to struggle up, to follow after him, but the movement sent a wave of pain through him. "Clark..." He whispered dazedly as he slumped back down, going limp as consciousness fled him once more.

Clark ran from the castle. He was moving somewhat fast for a human, but not near at super speed. The radiation from meteor rock in the necklace had been seeping into him all afternoon, so by now he was getting quite weak. Well, compared to his usual strength anyway. Actually, that was probably a good thing, because trying to run at super speed while all but blinded by tears would almost certainly have been disastrous!

He ran along the highway, not caring that his speed was so slow. He knew he should take off the necklace, but he didn't want to. He didn't want all of this strength! He didn't want to hurt anyone! Least of all those he cared about! A car went by going the other direction, but it was just a darting smudge to him. He heard breaks being applied, then the sounds of the vehicle turning around, but he just ran on, not looking back.

The car pulled up abreast of him.

"Clark?" Chloe's voice called out to him, "Where have you been?"

He didn't reply, didn't even look over. He just tried to will her to go away.

"Clark? What's the matter?" she called out, her voice growing worried. When he still didn't answer, she gunned the gas for a minute and sped ahead, then pulled off the road and hit the breaks, shifting it into park and hopping out of the car.

Clark couldn't bear the thought of telling anyone what he'd done, and he knew Chloe would ask. He veered off the road before she could reach him, heading into the open field beside them. Of course he just heard her crashing through the brush after him.

"Clark Kent, I will chase you to the ends of the earth if I have to and you know it!" She called after him, "So just stop already!"

Yes, he knew it was futile. Well, he could probably outrun her eventually, even with the necklace around his neck slowly sapping the strength from his body... but he was going to have to face her sooner or later. He slowed, then staggered to an unsteady stop. He let out a little sob, his legs folding and dropping him unceremoniously down onto the ground. He just sat there, trying to brace himself as he heard her approach slow.

She slowly circled around him, panting slightly and looking down at him with open concern. "Clark..." She said gently, shocked by the tears streaming from his eyes, "My God... what happened?"

He took a shuddering breath, dropping his eyes to the weeds before him. "I hurt him, Chloe." He said in a soft, desolate voice. He wasn't sure why he was telling her, but he just couldn't seem to help himself. The words just seemed to flow out of him like the tears that dripped from his chin. "I didn't mean to. God knows I'd never want to hurt him. I did though." He sniffled, remembering Lex laying there before him, "He was just laying there... there were so many bruises..."

Her eyes had gone wide, "Who? Who did you hurt?" She asked, trying to keep it simply a question of concern, though he could almost see her fighting down the journalist inside her.

"Lex." He sobbed.

"Is he going to be ok?" She asked, getting down on her knees next to him and reaching out, taking his shaking hand in hers.

Clark just shook his head, "I don't know!" He blurted, "I don't know..." He repeated, his voice softening, "The nurse... maid, whatever... she called the doctor. I heard her on the phone. She's afraid he's bleeding internally. I don't know what I'm going to do if anything happens to him. This is my fault. This is all my fault."

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Clark." She said softly, "He's got the best doctors money can buy, I'm sure of that." She said, gently rubbing his shoulder, "What happened? How did he get hurt?"

He may have been far enough gone to blurt out what he already had, but he sure as Hell wasn't admitting how he'd done the damage! He just reached out and snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her to him.

She let out a little surprised sound, but then found Clark's arms around her, his face buried in her shoulder as he broke down and sobbed. Not even Chloe could resist the obvious need within him to be comforted. She forced herself to stop asking questions and just wrapped her arms around him, holding him and stroking his hair soothingly.

It was a good five or six minutes before Clark managed to gather himself enough to pull away. He turned his head away from her, too ashamed of what he'd done to face her... not to mention the fact that he'd broken down so completely in front of her. He wasn't used to crying. At least not when anyone could see him.

After a minute of somewhat awkward silence, Chloe brushed her hand down his arm. "Come on. You should get into town. Your parents are really worried about you. I'll give you a ride."

He just nodded mutely and got to his feet, starting back towards where they'd left the car. She just walked beside him, resting her hand comfortingly on his shoulder until they had to part to get in the car. She pulled out onto the highway and started towards town. Despite the need to get him there and her usual penchant for driving fast, she kept it at a casual pace, a little below the speed limit even. It was obvious she could sense that he wasn't quite ready to face other people. Though she squirmed a bit as she fought her journalistic instincts, she managed to force herself not to continue the questioning.

By the time they got into town Clark had gathered himself. He still looked troubled, but if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes she would never have guessed he'd been crying just a few minutes before. She wished she had it that easy! When she cried her face stayed splotchy and her eyes puffy and red rimmed for like half an hour after she stopped!

They approached the market, but the traffic was a bit congested from the last of the customers leaving and the vendors having moved their vehicles up to haul off their remaining wares.

"Here's fine." Clark muttered, unbuckling his seat belt.

Chloe reached over, putting her hand on his. "Are you going to be ok, Clark?" She asked softly, gazing at him worriedly.

He looked at her for a long moment, then looked away, out through the window at the busy people. "I don't know." He replied honestly. "Listen... about what happened back there..."

She patted his hand, "I wouldn't be much of a journalist, let alone a _friend,_ if I couldn't keep a secret, Clark. If you need anyone to talk to, night or day..."

He forced a little smile and gave her a nod. "Thanks, Chloe."

Clark got out and started through the people. He dodged around the vendors hauling their crates and such, had to move to the side to avoid a couple of shrieking kids having a merry chase through the crowd. He knew he should hurry over to help his mother, but he found himself walking slowly, glad she was on the entire opposite side of the market. She'd probably heard about the little run-in at the Talon by now. He really should have hurried back once he'd gotten his arm patched up. It would have saved everyone a lot of pain and worry. He reached over and squeezed the bandage on his arm. The cut ached and throbbed. He felt like he deserved the pain and more... but he knew his parents would be out of their minds if they saw a wound like that on him.

He paused as he saw an old man packing some small tins and metal boxes away in a crate. He'd noticed them as they went through earlier, but hadn't looked that closely. The man was almost done packing up, a good dozen large crates and three long tables all ready to go, he was just finishing up with the lighter items on the last card table.

He squinted, shifting his vision to x-ray. It was hard to maintain with the meteor rock around his neck, but he managed it long enough to spot what he'd been looking for. He hurried over, looking at the small box he'd spotted. It was set back on the table, behind a box of tissues. It looked to be an old clam-shell type box about three inches square and perhaps an inch deep that appeared to have once had some nice scenery etched into it, though that was faded from wear and marred by errant scratches and a dent in the lid. It sealed though, and it was undeniably made of lead. Clark looked it over. It would easily fit the charm in it with room to spare. He turned it over, but there was only a slightly sticky patch where the price tag had been.

"Excuse me, sir. How much is this?" Clark asked, holding up the box.

The old man looked up to see what he was referring to. "Oh, I can't sell that one." He muttered, "Made of lead. That lady from the market planning board was by earlier, an she said I couldn't be sellin somethin like that. I'd think people'd probably just set it on a shelf, but she seems to think they'd be lickin it or somethin'." He said with a little amused chuckle. "Still, don't wanna be getting in trouble with the market board or I won't be able to get in next year!"

"Please can I buy it?" Clark implored, "I have about fifteen dollars I think." he said, digging in his pocket.

The old man held up his hand. "Sorry, son. There aren't many places left close enough for me to get to to sell my stuff at. I'm getting old and I can't handle driving very far anymore."

Clark set the box back down sadly. It would have been perfect. It'd even fit in his pocket, and with the worn, rounded edges it probably wouldn't even show up much.

The old man sighed when he saw the dejected look on Clark's face. "I tell you what..." He said as he packed away the last of the tins and put the lid on the crate, "You look like a strapping lad, and my boys seem to be running late again. If you help me put these boxes on my truck, I'll... well I'll let you go take that box over to the trash and throw it away for me." He said with a little wink. "Not like I can sell it, after all."

Clark gave him a little grateful smile. "Ok."

"I got a ramp in the back of the truck, and a dolly to help. These boxes are pretty heavy! I lent the dolly to my buddy, but he should be about done with it by now." He looked over, spotting another old duffer on the edge of the parking area heaving boxes off of a dolly into the back of an old Ford. "Yep, that should be his last load. Why don't you get that ramp out of the back and set it up. I'll go grab the dolly and we'll get started."

Clark just nodded and watched the old man turn and waddle off. He took the necklace off and put it in the box. As soon as he closed the lid he felt his weariness wash away as strength returned to him, the slight ache in his arm fading away.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

The old man waved goodbye to his friend, then wheeled the dolly back over. "Here we go..." He said, looking up... but Clark was gone. So were the boxes. He looked over in surprise, seeing them all stacked neatly in the back of his truck, the three tables, card table and his chair right beside them. He chuckled and shook his head. "Ah, to be that young again!" he muttered, laboriously heaving the small dolly up into the bed of the truck and closing the tailgate.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

"Clark!"

Clark looked up in surprise as he heard his father's voice. "Dad?" He asked, seeing the man hurrying over to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard what happened, so I got a ride into town. Where have you been? You had your mother and me worried sick!"

His mother hurried up, looking him over as if she expected him to be gravely wounded. "Clark! What happened? Pete said you were bleeding?"

Clark put his hand over the bandage under his sleeve. There wasn't even the slightest hint of pain left, the cut obviously long healed. "I'm fine, mom. Really. It was nothing."

His father moved closer, glancing around and dropping his voice, "But how?" He said significantly.

Clark sighed, "Lex bought something here that had a tiny bit of meteor rock in it." He said quietly, making sure no one got close enough to overhear, "It wasn't even enough to make me feel sick, but it was enough to let me get cut. It's fine now. It healed up once I wasn't exposed to it anymore." Which was the truth, though that hadn't happened until a minute or so ago.

Jonathan let out an angry huff. "Lex!" He spat, "Why does it seem like that man is always involved when you get hurt?"

"Dad!" Clark said in exasperation, not wanting to get into this same old argument, especially now.

"Doesn't it strike you as odd that you get hurt when some man Lex provoked attacks him and you got in the way as he would have known you would?"

"Dad, he didn't provoke anyone! He was just sitting in the Talon, minding his own business. That man was a drunk looking to pick a fight. Lex tried to walk away!" Clark growled irritably.

"Sure he did. And it was just a coincidence that you were only able to get hurt because Lex just 'happened' to buy something that weakened you? He has been trying to find out what makes you tick since the day he met you. Maybe he's finally on to something. Why else would he buy something like that?"

"He bought it because _I_ showed an interest in it!" Clark shot back. "He saw that I wanted it, so he bought it for me." He said, pulling the little lead box out of his pocket.

His mother took it, opening it up and looking at the innocuous looking resin pendant.

Jonathan looked at him as if he'd just gone insane, "Now why on Earth would you want something like that?"

"Maybe because I don't want to be like this all the time!" Clark hissed back, trying hard to keep from yelling and calling attention to them. "Maybe I don't always want to be some impenetrable freak who can rip through steel plate and crush things without even having to think about it! Do you have any idea what it's like to be like me? I just wish he'd gotten a piece with _more_ meteor rock in it!"

"You'd be willing to make yourself sick just to pretend to be something you're not?" Jonathan asked evenly.

"It'd be more than worth feeling a little sick." Clark replied, his voice catching a bit.

"And what if it got too strong and you couldn't get away from it? We both know that stuff gets worse the longer it's around you. Something like that could _kill_ you. Are you really willing to risk something like that just so you can play at being 'normal'?"

"My life is _mine_ to risk!" Clark shot back, "I'm _dangerous_, whether you chose to see that or not! I can hurt people without even meaning to! I have no right to put everyone else in danger just by being around them! I'd much rather risk my own life than have to constantly worry about hurting people I care about!"

With that, Clark turned and started walking away.

"Just where do you think you're going, young man?" Jonathan called after him, "We're not done talking!"

"Yes, we are!" Clark growled back.

His mother closed the box and hurried after him, grabbing hold of his arm. "Clark..." She said worriedly.

Clark stopped, but wouldn't look at her. "I'm going to walk home." he said softly.

She nodded, "Ok." She leaned up and gave his cheek a kiss, then let go of his arm.

Clark continued on his way without so much as a glance back.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jonathan called, starting after him.

Martha grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Stop it, Jonathan!" She said firmly.

"What the Hell's gotten into that boy?" He growled.

"I don't know." She said, watching her son's retreating back, "But it's pretty obvious something happened. Give him some time."

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

"Where the Hell have you been?" Jonathan asked, coming down off the front porch and heading to meet Clark as he approached the house. "We've been home for over twenty minutes!"

"I walked home. That generally takes longer than driving does." Clark said, really not wanting to get into this again. Why couldn't his father just get a clue and leave him alone?

"Since when do you actually _walk_ home?" Jonathan replied a bit sarcastically.

"Since I felt like walking home!" Clark sighed a bit irritably, "Why is the speed at which I walk of such interest to you all of a sudden?"

"It's of interest because there's obviously something you're not telling me, and I want to know what it is."

"Did you ever think maybe it's something I don't want to talk about with you?" Clark asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"Clark!" His mother called quickly to avert her husbands angry reply as she hurried from the door. "Clark dear, dinner's almost ready. Come on in and get something to eat."

Clark just dropped his eyes and shook his head. "No thanks. I'm not hungry." He said, turning and heading off towards the barn.

Jonathan let out an irritable sound and started after Clark. Once again, Martha grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Don't!" She said simply.

"Oh please, Martha! He's a teenaged boy, since when is he not hungry? He's just trying to avoid talking to me, and I'm going to find out why!"

"Like you said," She replied, not releasing his arm, "He's a teenager. Like it or not, teenagers don't always want to tell their parents everything that happens in their lives. It's _normal_, if you've forgotten. Let him deal with whatever this is in his own way."

"Well, he's not exactly a _normal_ teen, now is he?" He replied, trying to sound reasonable, "If there's something upsetting him this much, we need to know what it is!"

"I, for one, trust my son to tell us if it's something we really need to know." She said, pointedly dropping her hold on his arm, making it clear that if he pursued it, it would show he didn't trust Clark.

He sighed deeply, "Martha..." he said in exasperation.

"No, Jonathan! Promise me you are not going to badger Clark about this!" She insisted firmly, her arms crossing over her chest, her eyes narrowing shrewdly.

He sighed again, knowing there was no arguing with her when she got like this. "Fine." He conceded. "I won't ask Clark any more questions tonight. I promise." He added when she tilted her head, obviously waiting for the words.

"Thank you, dear." She said, a little smile gracing her lips, "Now I better get back in there before I burn dinner!"

He just nodded and watched her hurry back into the house. Then he turned his eyes on the barn. As soon as both of the doors were closed and he was alone in the yard, he went over an got in the truck. He may have promised not to ask Clark any more questions, but he strongly suspected there was someone else who knew what was going on with Clark... and he knew just where to find him!

- 0 – 0 - 0 – 0 -

Jonathan looked at the locked gate with irritation. Maybe if he was Clark he'd be able to get around it, but for everyone else it was pretty much impenetrable. He looked over at the little call box. It was unlikely Lex would be nice enough to buzz him in, but it didn't look like he had any other choice this side of ramming the gate. Tempting, but he would like to keep his truck intact and himself out of jail if at all possible. So he reached over and hit the button.

After a moment, a woman's voice came over the intercom, "Yes? May I help you?"

"I'm here to see Lex." Jonathan said simply.

"Well, it's about time!" The woman said in a relieved tone, "We're in the master bedroom."

Jonathan furrowed his brow. He certainly wasn't expecting such an open welcome. Still, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he drove on in as the gates swung open for him.

He didn't see anyone the whole way, even as he entered the castle. He wasn't sure exactly where the master bedroom was since he wasn't exactly a frequent visitor there, but he took a guess and headed off. "Hello?" He called once he found himself in a likely corridor.

"Over here!" The woman called out from about four doors down, her voice echoing slightly off the stone of the corridor.

He reached the door that was cracked opened and pushed it the rest of the way open. The woman was walking towards him.

"Honestly! It's not like you haven't..." Her eyes went round as she spotted him, "Who the Hell are you?"

"I'm Jonathan Kent, and I need to have a word with Lex about my son." He replied, hurrying into the room so she wouldn't have a chance to close the door and keep him out.

"Lex isn't seeing anyone right now!" She said, quickly holding her arms out and trying to herd him back out.

"I'm not going until..." Jonathan trailed off, finally having caught sight of Lex.

Lex was laying in his bed. The stark white of the fresh sheets made his complexion look even paler than usual, which made the bruising on his arm and shoulder stand out even more vividly in contrast. His wrist was in a splint, the other one a nasty shade of purple, and he had an I.V. running to his left arm just above the splint attached to a bag she'd cable-tied to the tall headboard. He also had an oxygen mask over his face, his breathing obviously shallow. The white of a bandage wrapped tightly around his chest peeked out from under the sheets.

"Wha... what happened to him?" Jonathan asked softly.

"What a minute... Did you say _Kent?_ You related to _Clark_ Kent?" She asked shrewdly, folding her arms over her chest.

"Clark's my son." He replied.

"So... what? Did you come here to finish what he started? Because you lay one finger on Lex and I'll have the cops on you in nothing flat!" She hissed warningly.

Jonathan ran his hand over his mouth, not sure what to say. He couldn't believe Clark would have done anything like this to someone, especially Lex! "Are you saying that Clark did this?" He finally forced himself to ask.

"Well, Lex certainly didn't do it to himself, and I'd say those hand prints pretty much speak for themselves!" She shot back.

"I... no... Clark wouldn't do something like this." Jonathan said, unable to believe it.

"Funny, he freely admitted it was him when I got here."

Jonathan ran his fingers through his hair, staring at Lex in disbelief.

Suddenly Lex stirred, shifting his head to the other side and letting out a little pained groan.

Jonathan stepped around her, walking up to the bed and gazing down at Lex.

Lex blinked his eyes open, then flinched away, ducking his head down and trying to shift away from him, though it brought an immediate gasp of pain.

"Calm down." Jonathan said quickly, "It's just me."

Lex slowly let himself ease back down, looking up at him warily. He'd known exactly who it was. That's why he'd flinched! He eyed him, but the man didn't appear on the verge of attacking him. The threat lessened (for the moment at least), he furrowed his brow, reaching up with his right hand and pulling the mask down, "Oxygen, Linda? Really?"

"You needed it! You're barely breathing!" She replied defensively.

"That's because it feels like I have a damn corset on!" Lex wheezed, pulling at the edge of the bandage around his ribs.

"You have at least a couple of cracked ribs! They have to be immobilized."

"Well did you have to immobilize my lungs while you were at it? Besides, I'm sure they're just bruised." He muttered irritably, his eyes trailing over, "Oh come on! An I.V.?"

"You were dehydrated." She stated evenly.

"Then give me a glass of water, don't stick a needle in my arm!" He said, shifting around a bit with a grimace of pain on his face.

"If you could stay awake for more than a minute at a time maybe I would."

Lex just rolled his eyes, shifting uncomfortably again, "Come on... loosen up the bandage already." He asked pleadingly.

"The doctor will be here any minute. If _he_ thinks I should loosen it up, then I will."

Lex gave up and let his eyes trail up to Jonathan. "Forgive me if I don't get up, Mr. Kent. What brings you all the way out here?"

Jonathan sighed, "Clark was very upset when he came home, but he wouldn't talk to me about it. I came out here to see what it was all about." He looked down at the tightly wrapped wrist, "Did Clark do this to you?"

Lex averted his eyes. "I'm fine, Mr. Kent. Linda here is just a bit over protective. It's just a couple of bruises. It's nothing."

"Nothing?" Linda blurted, "Your wrist is broken, and so are a number of your ribs, you're covered in bruises and you're bleeding internally!"

"I am _not_ bleeding internally." Lex said in exasperation, "A tender stomach doesn't automatically translate into hemorrhaging! You're being paranoid! I doubt I even need to see the doctor, but I will if it will make you stop already!"

"At least let me give you something for the pain." She offered, resting her hand on her impressive kit.

"For the last time, no!" Lex snapped. "You of all people should know how I feel about that!"

"You're getting yourself all worked up. You need to be resting." She went over, snagging up the bracelet off the dresser and went over, handing it to Jonathan. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave now, Mr. Kent." She said firmly.

"Linda!" Lex growled, wincing as his ribs gave a twinge.

"What's this?" Jonathan asked, indicating the bracelet she'd handed him.

"Your son's bracelet. He left it earlier. His clothes should be done tomorrow. I don't do the laundry and the usual woman is off today. I will have them delivered so you don't need to stop by again."

"This isn't Clark's." Jonathan said, holding it back out.

"Well, he was wearing it when I bandaged up his arm earlier." She said as if thinking he was just trying to make up an excuse to linger.

"It's mine." Lex said, "I bought it today. Clark tried it on before we got distracted by the incident in town. I almost forgot about it. He must have taken it off before he left."

Jonathan turned, intent on setting it on the nightstand, then paused, looking at it closer.

Lex noticed his interest in the small red stone set in the silver. "It's crystal from meteor rock. An Indian woman was selling them at the market."

Jonathan nodded, trying to look casual as he set it on the stand. "It's a nice piece." He said, pretending he'd just been admiring the workmanship, "Well, I just wanted to assure you that whatever happened today won't happen again."

Lex furrowed his brow. "Ok..." He said slowly.

"Clark never meant to hurt you." He continued.

"I never thought he did."

"Oh, please!" Linda muttered.

"Linda, out!" Lex growled.

"Lex..." She began.

"Out!" He yelled, holding his ribs from the obvious pain it caused.

"Fine. I'm leaving. Calm down." She said, giving Jonathan a glare that told him in no uncertain terms that he'd have her to deal with if he did anything to Lex, then she walked stiffly out of the room.

Lex, settled back, closing his eyes for a moment until the pain subsided a bit. "Clark doesn't know his own strength sometimes." Lex agreed.

"Yes... but it was more than that. He was under the influence of something." Jonathan said tentatively. He didn't want to say too much, but he wanted Lex to understand.

Lex eyed him. "Clark doesn't touch drugs. You should know that."

"Not a drug. It was more like an _allergy_, actually. He was exposed to something that has a detrimental effect on his judgment. You remember when he was acting so oddly a while back... when he came here and told you he was leaving home and wanted you to come with him?"

"Yes." Lex said, furrowing his brow.

"That was the first time he was exposed to it. Once we identified what was causing the problem we were able to help him. He's been careful since then, and it's a very rare substance he's allergic to, but he had a brush with it again today. I don't think it was as bad this time, but I guess it was enough to lead him to do something he obviously regrets."

"So... this allergy... what exactly does it do to him?" Lex asked carefully.

"It just... well it makes him lose his inhibitions and act irrationally. Do things he never normally would, say things he shouldn't. Whatever he did to you, I know in my heart he never meant to." Jonathan said sincerely.

Lex just sat there for a minute, staring pointedly at nothing, his expression tightly controlled.

"You have to believe me on that." Jonathan added.

"I do." Lex said softly, then he took as deep a breath as he could and forced a little smile, "Don't worry about it, Mr. Kent. I'm the last person who would hold something someone did while under the influence of something against them. I had a brush with drug addiction in my late teens. A friend of mine introduced me to them. Linda's brother, in fact. That was a couple of months of my life that... well I can't really say I'll never forget it, since I could never really _remember_ it... but I will always remember what it cost. That scar on Linda's cheek? I own that. I don't remember the details, but I know it was me who put it there. I didn't _mean_ to, but I did." Lex said, sagging into the pillows and looking up at the ceiling as he spoke. It was obvious what energy he had was fading quickly, "When I woke up the next day, I was strapped down to a bed in a rehab center. She put me there. My father eventually found me and tried to get me out, but she threatened to go to the press with a story of me attacking her if he did. She wouldn't have, really, but he couldn't risk that. Having a son in rehab is pretty much par for the course amongst the rich. Having one who hurts women? That's a black mark that stays with you. He left me, and I got better. I broke the addiction and I've never used again since. She saved my life... and every time I look at her, I'm reminded of how out of control I got. I've asked her a hundred times to let me have a plastic surgeon get rid of it, but she won't let me. She says if looking at that keeps me clean, then she'll gladly live with the scar. So, as I said... I know what it's like, and I would never hold it against him."

Jonathan shifted a bit uneasily. "So you hired her? I'd think you'd rather not have to look at her every day if she brings back bad memories."

"Yes, well I can handle reminders." Lex replied simply, "Her brother wasn't as lucky as I was. He never got over it. She gave up everything to take care of him, and when he died she had nothing left. She wouldn't accept charity, like _someone else_ I know, so I gave her a job. It was the least I could do. Unfortunately, she appears to have _adopted_ me, though, so you'll have to forgive her over protective nature." He said with another little forced smile. Then he let his eyes close and worked on forcing air into his lungs.

"I'm well familiar with the attitude. Perhaps you've met my wife." Jonathan said with a little smile, then it disappeared, "I'm sorry to have barged in on you. You should get some rest."

Lex open his eyes again as Jonathan turned to go, "Could you do me a favor?" He asked softly.

Jonathan looked back at him, "What?"

"Tell Clark I understand. Tell him... Tell him it never happened." Lex said, his voice catching, his eyes watery.

"You ok?" Jonathan asked gently, seeing the pain Lex couldn't manage to mask any longer.

Lex closed his eyes, though a couple of tears escaped him, and gave his head a little shake, "Fine." He said tightly, his breath shuddering in his chest, "Just my ribs. Could you send Linda back in?" He asked before quickly pulling the mask back over his face to make sure Jonathan didn't try to delve further.

Jonathan nodded, though he knew Lex couldn't see him. He felt guilty for the pain Clark had caused, but didn't know what he could do about it, so he just left.

Linda came back in once he was gone and went over, sitting on the bed next to him. She reached out, stroking her hand over his bald head, then reached down and pulled the mask out of the way. "Lex..." She said softly.

"Give me that shot." He breathed, his voice raw and aching.

"Damn it, Lex! You went and fell in love with that boy, didn't you?" She asked sadly.

"Just give me the damn drugs and stop eavesdropping from now on!" he grumbled.

"The drugs aren't going to take away this kind of pain and you know it, Lex." She said, shifting forward and very gently slipping her arms around him, holding him comfortingly. "I'm sorry." She said achingly.

He clenched his eyes tighter, but the infuriating tears still kept managing to slip out as he pressed his face against her shoulder, longing for oblivion.

- 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 -

A/N – well, half way through. I do plan on finishing this one, of course (I'm not a total sadist!), but it's not looking like I'm going to be doing any more stories in this fandom. Either there's very little traffic, the people here just don't like to review, or they simply don't like my work enough to write a review. I do thank the three people who took the time, but the Harry Potter fandom has spoiled me I guess. I would be devastated if I got so few reviews on a chapter in HP, let alone _two!_ It probably makes it seem worse to me since I was so proud of this story. I really thought it was turning out well. Oh well. Anyway, I have a big day tomorrow, so I'm just going to post this and get to bed. Not sure if the other chapters will come out as quickly as the first three have. I still have editing to do on them and I actually haven't completely settled on chapter 6 yet. There are a couple of ways I was toying with going and I haven't really sat down and decided yet. Depending on how it goes, I might need to nudge things in chapters 4&5, so I don't want to put them out until I decide at the very least. Let's hope my muse gets out of her funk and makes her mind up!


	4. Friendship

A/N – more adult situations.

- 0 – 0 – 0 –

Chapter 4  
>Friendship<p>

The next morning Clark was running late, as usual. Of course he'd actually been awake before his alarm even went off. To be honest, he'd barely slept all night. It was hard to sleep when your brain was racing so fast... and yet getting nowhere. What happened yesterday was just completely beyond his comprehension. He couldn't understand why he'd done what he'd done... or even how he was feeling about it. There were so very many unanswered (and unanswerable) questions in his mind! He let himself lay in bed, dwelling on these questions until his mother yelled upstairs that he was going to be late. That's what he'd been waiting for, of course.

He dressed uncharacteristically slow and then made his way downstairs. He hurried as he crossed through the kitchen.

"Hold up there, young man!" His mother called.

Clark came to a stop, sighing, then turned, "Ya?"

"Here." She said, handing him a brown sack.

He looked down at it, furrowing his brow, "Um... why the sack lunch?"

"That's your _breakfast_. A boy with your metabolism shouldn't skip a meal, let alone two in a row. I had a feeling you might be running late today, and I wanted to make sure you didn't pass out from starvation in class."

He flashed her a little smile, leaning in and kissing her cheek. "Thanks, mom." He said. He hurried for the door again, only to come up short as his father walked through it. He didn't meet his father's eyes.

"We should talk, son." Jonathan said in an oddly gentle voice.

"Sorry, dad. Running late!" Clark said, quickly dodging past him and hitting super speed before his father could even draw another breath.

Jonathan just sighed and shook his head.

"Give him time." Martha said once more, patting his shoulder. "Come on, your breakfast is getting cold."

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

Clark dropped the empty brown bag in the trash can, then finished off the bottle of juice and sent it after the bag. He sighed in relief. He'd been starving! Not enough to risk a conversation with his father, but just about to the point of gnawing on his books for sustenance! Thank goodness his mother always seemed to be able to anticipate what he'd need. Sometimes he wondered if she was psychic.

"Hey, Clark." Lana greeted him casually as she came up to him.

"Hey, Lana." Clark said, starting into the school.

She paced him. She had that air about her like she was holding in a joke she was just dying to tell. Finally she asked, "Have you seen Chloe today?"

"No." He said, looking over at her warily, "Why do you ask?"

She grinned widely, "You should go say hi." She said with a little snicker before hurrying off towards her locker.

Clark furrowed his brow, wondering what that was about. Well, he guessed he should find out. It was pretty easy to figure out where Chloe would probably be. He headed over to the Torch.

When he got there he saw a girl sitting at one of the computers with her back to him, "Hey, have you seen..." Clark trailed off, his eyes going round as she turned her head.

It was Chloe... but _way_ not her hair! Her hair was now a blazing shade of red! He let out a little amused breath, "What happened to your head?" He asked.

"You like it?" She asked, beaming at him, "This shade's called Copper Penny."

"I can see why." He replied, staring at the glowing red of her hair. It did, indeed, look the precise color of a newly minted penny. "So does that mean that the results of the poll are in?"

"That they are." She replied, reaching over and grabbing up a sheet of paper and showing him a pie chart. "Apparently, of the boys currently enrolled here at Smallville High, a whopping sixty eight percent prefer blondes. Not a surprise to _me_, but it's nice to be backed by statistical proof." She said, setting the paper back on the stack.

"But you _were_ a blonde. Why did you dye your hair?" He asked, unable to take his eyes from her hair.

"Exactly! The paper goes out on Friday, so by Monday like eighty percent of the girls will be blondes. You know me. I'm not one to follow the crowd. I'm a bit of a rebel if you've somehow failed to notice." She said with a big grin.

"And you chose red why?" He asked, already having a very good idea why.

She shrugged, "Just a random choice. I've always liked this shade." She said nonchalantly, running her fingers through her hair.

"Right." He replied with a knowing grin.

The first bell rang and she hopped up, "Well, there's the bell. Don't forget to get in your article!"  
>"Wait, what article?" Clark asked in surprise as she whisked by him.<p>

She turned to face him, backing towards the door as she spoke, "The one you owe me for not writing about yesterday at the Talon. I need it no later than end of school Wednesday. This edition is going to be pathetically light if you don't get it in, so don't let me down!" She finished with a little wave as she zipped out the door.

Clark sighed deeply. Great. One more thing to deal with!

- 0 - 0 – 0 -

His classes passed in a blur... but a very drawn out blur! Clark hoped they didn't cover anything vital to his grades, because he didn't retain a single word the teachers said. He was lost in a cloud of swirling questions and thoughts. It was hard to focus on some battle waged hundreds of years ago when there was a battle going on in his own head. The implications of what he and Lex had done on Sunday were earth shaking. Well, they were for Clark at any rate.

He couldn't help but wonder if what happened meant he was gay. The thought had never crossed his mind before. He'd never had a single thought about another guy before, so the thing with Lex had really come out of left field. He just couldn't understand it. Red meteor rock made him irrational and made him act without thought to consequences... but the last time he'd encountered it, in the end, he couldn't deny that everything he said or did while affected by it had already been in his mind, no matter how buried. It had just removed his impulse control and conscience.

Had feelings for Lex been hiding in his subconscience? Well, more specifically _those_ kinds of feelings? He'd never try to deny that he had strong feelings for Lex, but they had always been feelings of deep friendship to his knowledge. He'd never once harbored a single fantasy about the man. Or any man for that matter. When he'd first read about Lex's brief sojourn into being bi-curious he had worried that Lex's feelings towards him might be more than friendship... but it hadn't been a matter of him being repulsed by the idea or anything. He'd just been worried that he might end up unintentionally hurting Lex since he'd never return those kind of affections. He hadn't wanted Lex to end up feeling about him like Clark had felt about Lana for so long. No one should have to endure that!

Still, that worry had faded quickly after watching Lex while they were together. He'd shown no hints of inappropriate desire. Clark had then just dismissed such worries and all but forgotten about the possibility. Well, until yesterday, that is.

What had happened between him and Lex had obviously been unexpected... and he knew theoretically that a normal teenaged boy would be feeling rather horrified and disgusted with himself about it right now... but try as he might, he couldn't find a single trace of disgust, or even regrete really. Well, obviously he deeply regretted hurting Lex, and for that reason alone he wished it'd never happened... but if he hadn't hurt him... if they had been together and both of them walked away unscathed afterwards... he couldn't help but wonder if he would be heading right back over there as soon as school was over and taking back up where they'd left off.

Despite his continued complete lack of interest in males in general, and especially in so much as touching one... he couldn't help but remember how amazing it felt to hold Lex... to feel his warm body pressed against him. And the way it felt when they kissed. Why hadn't it ever felt that intimate when he'd kissed a girl? It hadn't just been lips and tongues... it had felt like their very _souls_ were touching. And when they'd made love...

Clark let out a surprised cry and jerked back as the beaker in front of him exploded. The students around him scattered and the teacher rushed over. Clark blushed with embarrassment, realizing his heat vision had gone off and ruptured the beaker that was supposed to be simply warming gently over the Bunsen burner. He hadn't had a hormonal misfire like that since he learned how to control it! He mentally chastised himself as he hurried to clean up the mess, just grateful he hadn't hit the gas line running to the burner. Nothing like almost blowing up a whole classroom to get your head out of the clouds!

"Must have been a crack in the beaker." He offered as the teacher tried to figure out how this could have happened.

"Must have been..." The teacher muttered in confusion. The fluid in the beaker hadn't been combustible or reactant, so the glass was the only other logical explanation. Clark finished cleaning up and went to fetch a new beaker to start his experiment over again while the teacher instructed the other students to examine their glassware for defects.

He was very diligent with his work the second time around, and managed to finish just before the bell rang. He hurried to put his supplies back away as the other students filed out. When he returned to his seat, one of his classmates was standing there, obviously waiting for him. It only took him a second to realize who he was... Tommy Fischer, the son of the man who'd accosted Lex the day before.

"Hey, Tommy." Clark said as he scooped up his books.

The boy nodded in greeting, looking embarrassed. "I... um... I just wanted to thank you."

"For what?" Clark asked curiously.

"For not pressing charges." He said, his eyes dropping.

"It was Lex he was attacking," Clark pointed out, "So it was Lex's call to make. I supported the decision, don't get me wrong, but _Lex_ is the one you should thank."

From the expression that crossed the boy's face at the suggestion, Clark knew Lex shouldn't hold his breath waiting for that particular thank you.

"_You_ were the one who got hurt." He pointed out.

"It was just a scratch. Doesn't even hurt." Clark said dismissively.

"And you're the one who told Sullivan not to put it in the paper." He added.

Clark looked up in surprise, then flashed him a little smile, "Just making sure she doesn't stoop to slandering... or _libeling _rather, people who are just a little down on their luck. Wouldn't want the Torch turning into the Inquisitor, now would we? Besides, everyone deserves a second chance. In fact, if your dad can stick with the program and get himself cleaned up, I think he should reapply at LexCorp."

Tommy gave a snort, "Lex would never hire him back after dad went berserker on him like that!"

Clark shrugged, "Maybe not... but what's the worse that could happen? He gets turned down. I think it's worth a try, though. Lex is a good man, whether you believe it or not. He might just surprise you." Clark said, giving him a light pat on the shoulder as he went past him, hurrying on to his next class.

- 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0- 0 - 0 -

Well, that had been the longest school day in history! Still, in a way Clark was sad to see it end. Now he had no excuse not to go home and face his parents.

Of course he could always stop by the Talon and check to make sure Lana didn't need to order anything. Sure, she could simply pick up the phone and call his mother if she wanted to, but it was on his way home anyway... well, kind of at any rate.

As he approached the Talon, he looked up in time to see a flash of copper. Chloe had just entered the coffee shop. While seeing the color on her was jarring, he had to admit she wore it well. He slowed a little, hoping she'd take a seat a ways in and not notice him enter. He didn't want to avoid her, really... and yet he still feared she'd ask him more questions about the other day.

He slipped in, then headed over to the counter. Lana was filling a tray with drinks. He waited until she finished and the waitress whisked the tray away.

"Clark!" Lana said, spotting him, "I tried to say hello to you today after lunch and you just walked past me like I wasn't there! I was starting to think you were avoiding me!"

"I did?" Clark said, genuinely surprised, "Sorry. I was a bit distracted today."

She bobbed her head, "Are you alright?"

He glanced up and noticed she was staring at his sleeve, "Oh, that? It's fine. Didn't even need stitches."

"It sure bled a lot..." She muttered uncertainly.

"Oh! The towel! I'm sorry. It's in to be washed, but I rather doubt it'll be in any condition to use again. Blood doesn't come out of cloth easy, especially white cloth. I'll buy you a new one."

She waved it off, "Oh, don't worry about that." She said, then leaned a bit closer, "I put that and the dented tray on Lex's tab." She added with a chuckle.

Clark rolled his eyes, but knew Lex probably wouldn't care.

"Can I get you anything, sir?" She asked in a mock business tone.

"How about a mocha?" He said, giving her a wane smile.

"Yes, sir. One mocha coming right up!" She said, going over and quickly making it up, then set the mug before him. As she let go of it and shifted back, she suddenly grabbed for something at her neck. "This darn thing!" She said in irritation, holding up a necklace, the ends hanging loose, "The clasp lets go at the drop of a hat! I'd just tie the cord in a knot, but it isn't long enough!"

"Let me see. Maybe I can fix it." Clark offered, holding out his hand.

"Sure." She said gratefully, dropping it into his palm.

The oddest little shiver when through Clark as the necklace settled in his hand. He looked down at it in surprise, recognizing the thin rose quartz point. "Hey, I saw one just like this at the market yesterday."

"Did you?" Lana asked with a little half smile, "You like it?"

He gave a little shrug, "Not exactly my color, but I bet it looks good on you." He said, flashing her a little smile as he examined the clasp. It was a rather cheaply made one, and the hook was bent a bit oddly.

"Oh, I have to go get that table." She said quickly, grabbing up her order pad and hurrying off.

Clark just nodded absently, trying to get his fingers to manipulate the tiny hook without mashing it into a useless ball of wire.

"I'm glad you talked me out of that article." Chloe said, seeming to appear out of nowhere and lean back against the counter next to him.

"Hmm?" Clark asked, glancing up.

"Tommy actually _hugged_ me when I told him I wouldn't print anything about his dad! Certainly made _my_ day! I'd forgotten how unbelievably hot Tommy Fischer is. He usually hides it in that hoodie, but he has a really rockin body. God, look at that butt!" She sighed longingly, gazing intently across the room.

Clark turned, following her gaze. Tommy was there, all right. He could see her point, he did have a great butt. And the way that really thin cotton shirt hugged him you could see how trim and flat his stomach was. Being on the swim team was obviously keeping the young man in prime shape. Tommy looked over at him, noticing his gaze, and flashed him a disarming smile before looking back away. Damn! Why hadn't Clark ever noticed how unbelievably gorgeous Tommy's brilliant green eyes were? Come to think of it, he couldn't even remember noticing what color they were before. How could he possibly have missed that? He'd stood no more than two feet from him just a couple of hours before and he'd never noticed _any_ of that!

"People are going to get odd ideas about you if you keep staring at Tommy like that, Clark." Chloe said mirthfully, turning around and stealing a sip of his mocha.

Clark quickly turned his head back away, trying not to blush. "Just thinking." He muttered, fixedly going back to messing with the clasp. What the Hell was _that_ about? He had sex with one guy and now he was suddenly finding other guys attractive? But that was so weird, because he hadn't been noticing boys like that in school, and he'd been specifically paying attention to that to see if he saw guys any differently now. What had changed all of a sudden? Well, he didn't really feel like _doing anything_ with Tommy, but he couldn't help but appreciate his attractive body. It was almost like it was with some attractive girls. He liked to stare at them and 'appreciate' them visually, even if they held no real personal interest for him. Still, he'd never done that with a guy before!

"I see Lana showed you her necklace." Chloe observed, spotting the crystal in his hand.

"The clasp is messed up. I'm just trying to fix it for her." He said distractedly. He almost had the little hook right.

"You know why she bought it, don't you?" Chloe asked with a mischievous grin.

He looked up at her, "Why?"

"Trish stopped in here after the market and was showing some of the girls her left over jewelry. She happened to mention that _you'd_ stopped by her booth, and that you'd been very drawn to that particular necklace." Chloe said leadingly.

Lana had bought a necklace just because he'd liked it?

"Personally, I wouldn't touch the thing!" Chloe said, eyeing the point warily.

"Not into rose quartz?" Clark asked, smiling at her.

"Oh, please! Is that what she told you it was?" She asked with a snort of amusement.

He furrowed his brow, looking at the innocuous little crystal. "Ya. What, you think it isn't?"

"I happen to _know_ it isn't." Chloe said confidently. "Quartz, no matter the color, forms primarily with six sides. Sometimes there are facets near the point that can give it more 'faces', but around the middle of the main crystal there is rarely anything but six sides. _That_ little bugger has _eight_ sides! I've never heard of a naturally occurring crystal that forms with that many, especially with each side being almost perfectly matched like that."

"You think it's fake?"

"No. I think that came out of one of those meteors." Chloe said matter of factly.

Clark's eyes widened and darted over to the crystal in his hand, "What makes you think that? I've never heard of meteor rock coming in _pink!"_

"I have. Her brother had some nice pink octahedrons about the size of a half dollar that he said were slices of a single perfect crystal from a meteor rock his cousin found. He probably gave Trish the little ones that were too small for him to work with and she didn't bother to ask what they were. She's not exactly an expert. She tried to sell me a cheap fiber optic bead necklace saying it was 'natural cat's eye stone'! I mean who would honestly be dumb enough to fall for that? They were even all identical! Natural stone just doesn't work like that!"

Clark set the necklace down and moved his hand away from it, then just stared at it. If it came from a meteor, chances are it affected him in some way... but exactly what did it do to him? He'd felt the shiver of power when he touched it, so he didn't doubt it... in fact he should have wondered about that possibility before, but he'd hoped they had seen the last of the different colors with red. Was this a watered down version of red? It didn't seem to make him irrational. His eyes widened again as he made the association, realizing the bracelet Lex had purchased had a large pink stone set in it that matched that description exactly! He'd though he was just feeling a bit of the red... what had the pink been doing to him? Oh God... it wasn't the reason why he was noticing guys, was it? He couldn't deny that he only just started noticing them when he had that crystal in his hand. That couldn't just be a coincidence. He took his mug and used it as an excuse to lean away from the crystal, gazing at it warily as he sipped his mocha.

"Still, even if it isn't that green stuff, I wouldn't touch it." Chloe went on, oblivious to his distraction, "I mean with all the meteor freaks we have wandering around here I think we'd all do well to avoid anything that fell out of the sky that day!"

He looked over at her, wondering how she'd feel if she knew _he'd_ fallen from the sky that day. Would she avoid him as well?

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

Well, he had to go home eventually. Amazingly, there was no one home when he got there! He spent about five minutes doing his chores (super speed was awesome!), then got cleaned up and went into the kitchen. He'd had lunch at school, but he was always hungry again by the time he got home. It was only about an hour until dinner, but Clark really didn't want to put up with an achingly empty stomach that long! Luckily, no one was in the house when he got there, so he hurried into the kitchen and started slapping together a quick sandwich.

He sighed as the screen door opened behind him. He should have used his super speed for this part too! He pretended not to notice, grabbing up the sandwich making supplies and returning them to the refrigerator.

"Leave it open a minute." His mother said quickly before he had a chance to close the refrigerator.

He stepped aside, holding the door open for her as she deposited a gallon of milk inside it, then started picking other cold items out of the bag she was holding and putting them in as well. He glanced around while he waited for her to finish, but didn't see his father. He was just starting to feel relief when he heard the front door open and close. He tried to stifle his groan as he realized his father had circled around to catch him off guard. He could practically feel him standing behind him, watching him.

As soon as his mother finished with the refrigerator Clark let it close, then dodged around his father, gathering his sandwich up in a napkin.

"Clark." His father said.

"I'm heading to the loft." Clark said quickly, grabbing up his backpack and throwing it over his shoulder. "Tons of homework to get done."

Clark started for the kitchen door, then stopped and sighed deeply as his father's hand took hold of his shoulder, bringing him up short when he was no more than two paces away from freedom. He stopped, but he pointedly didn't turn, keeping his back firmly to his father.

"I know what happened, son." His father said gently.

Clark's eyes shot wide and he froze. "What do you mean?" Clark asked, his voice carefully even. Dear God! If his father really knew...

"When you wouldn't talk to me last night I drove over to the castle."

"You _WHAT?_" Clark asked with a horrified edge, having to try hard not to yell it. He wanted to turn, to look at his face, praying he was lying to try to get Clark to give something away... but he didn't turn, knowing his father probably had done just that. He should have seen this one coming!

"Jonathan!" Martha hissed, obviously shocked and appalled that he would do something like that behind her back, "Was that the 'little drive' you took to 'clear your head'?"

"I know I probably shouldn't have, but damn it, I need to know what's going with my own son!" Jonathan said defensively.

"I didn't want to tell you every little detail of my life, so you felt perfectly justified in invading my privacy? You couldn't _trust_ me and just take me at my word and leave it be for once? Was that _really_ too much to ask?" Clark asked in a tightly contained voice.

"Don't talk to me like that!" Jonathan growled.

"He has every right to be angry at you, Jonathan!" Martha said in a deeply disappointed tone.

"Well, he should have told me!" Jonathan replied, "Teenaged temper tantrums aside, we need to know when he's hurt someone!"

Clark winced, closing his eyes.

"No..." She breathed, looking at her son, "Clark would never have hurt someone."

"He didn't mean to, Martha. Lex bought a bracelet at the market that had a piece of red meteor rock in it and Clark tried it on."

She let out a little alarmed gasp.

Jonathan held up his hand, "Calm down. Lex didn't tell me exactly what happened, but he just had some bumps and bruises. I'm sure he'll be fine." He said reassuringly.

Well, that explained why his father wasn't nearly as furious as he thought he would be. He obviously had no inkling they'd had sex. He just thought Clark had smacked Lex around a bit.

"Listen, it's ok." Jonathan said, obviously addressing Clark once more, "He isn't holding it against you. I told him you didn't mean any of it."

Clark's chest tightened, "Why... why would you tell him that?"

"It was that damn rock, not you. Lord knows you'd never hurt that man if you were in your right mind. Don't worry. I told him it was an allergic reaction to something you were exposed to yesterday."

"An _allergic reaction?"_ Clark asked, aghast.

"Well, I had to tell him something, now didn't I? It's close enough to the truth, and he bought it."

Clark clenched his eyes shut. What must Lex be thinking now? God, he needed to go and try to explain it to him... but how could he? And even if he somehow came up with some brilliant explanation, how could he possibly face him now? As if he hadn't dreaded the next time they met enough already!

"He asked me to give you a message." Jonathan went on. "He said to tell you that he understood, and that it never happened. Like I said, he forgives you. There's no hard feelings."

It felt like a blade went through Clark's heart. God! Lex thought it was all some bizarre allergic reaction and that Clark had never meant any of it! Why did his father have to be so damn stubborn and bullheaded? He'd made a huge mess of everything and it was obvious he felt he should be thanked for it! He caught sight of his mother watching him from the side with a worried expression and carefully wiped all emotion from his face.

"Couldn't you have just _left me alone?"_ Clark asked tightly, biting back all the angry words he was dying to throw at his father.

"Ok, I've had about enough of the attitude from you, mister!" Jonathan growled angrily, "I dealt with your mistake for you! I know losing control like that is probably upsetting for you, but it has to be dealt with! Things like this don't just go away on their own. I did you a God damn favor! You have no right to take your frustrations out on me!"

Clark finally turned around, looking his father in the eyes angrily. "I am not a _child_ anymore!" Clark hissed, "Stop acting like you're chasing a toddler around and cleaning up his mess! If I make a mistake, I will deal with it _myself!_ If I want your help, I'll _ask_. Otherwise _butt out of my personal life!" _he finished with a yell.

His father started an angry retort, but Clark didn't wait for it. His father tried to grab his arm, but it was like shrugging off a spider web. He left the house and walked towards the barn. He rather expected his father to chase after him, and he was tensed, ready to hit super speed if he heard him coming. All he heard was his father's growling voice coming from the kitchen being offset by his mothers soft, soothing tones.

He made it to the loft alone. He paced back and forth in front of the battered old couch, his emotions swinging wildly back and forth between barely contained rage and utter heartbreak. His father had ruined everything! How could he ever possibly make this right with Lex now?

He finally sat on the couch heavily, mired in an emotional downswing. He finally remembered what he was carrying and tossed the backpack on the floor and set the now rather less than perfect sandwich on the seat next to him. Luckily he'd been holding it by the gathered ends of the napkin or it would be a little wad of mush by now.

He sighed deeply, rubbing his hands over his face. This was so messed up! He slumped back, resting his head on the lumpy back of the couch and stared up at the rafters. Yes, he really did have homework... but right now he had too much to think about to deal with anything as trivial as math problems and the English paper due Friday.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

Clark stirred as he felt his hair being stroked. He blinked his eyes open, then stared around in confusion. He was curled up on the couch in the loft, obviously having fallen asleep there. There was light coming in through the window and his mother was perched on the edge of the couch beside him, looking at him with a soft smile.

"He means well." She said softly.

Clark let out a sigh, averting his eyes.

"He's just a bit pig headed." She added.

Clark looked around warily, making sure his father wasn't nearby.

"Don't worry." She said, rising, "I hid the bag of sugar and sent him to the store for some more. You've probably got at least fifteen or twenty minutes before he gets back, so go get cleaned up and changed. I want to get a hot meal in you before you leave."

He quickly got up. "Thanks, mom." He said lovingly, giving her a kiss on the cheek before hurrying off.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

He had to admit, being properly fed helped some. Well, it made his body feel better at least... but his mind was still firmly stuck in the clouds through the whole school day. He'd been so spaced he'd nearly flunked his math test. The bell rang for end of class and he realized he hadn't filled in a single little oval on the answer sheet! Luckily his mind could work as fast as his body when he needed it to. He had the test done in the thirty seconds or so it took the teacher to reach his desk, collecting the tests. He preferred to take his time, especially with word problems that required some thought, and he doubted he got a perfect score, but he was fairly certain he passed.

His trip home (of course) included another trip to the Talon. They were too busy for Lana to make small talk, but he was ok with that. He just sat back in one of the comfortable chairs and sipped a drink and let his mind wander. No matter how fast he could get his brain to work for things like math, he couldn't seem to contemplate the important stuff any faster than anyone else. If only he could fast forward to some epiphany about his sexuality, his relationship with Lex or what he could possibly _say_ to Lex.

Once he was done with his drink, he got up and headed for the door. When he opened the door a glint of sunlight came in and he caught a gleam out of the corner of his eye coming from something on the floor just under the edge of the counter. Clark let go of the door and went over curiously, stooping down and fishing it out. He knew what it was even before he could see it. It tingled against his fingertips.

Clark stood up, looking at the little pink crystal in his fingers. Lana came out of the back room just then. She spotted her crystal and immediately reached up and patted where it should be. The leather strap was still there, though one end dangled loosely down the front of her shirt.

"Oh, this stupid thing!" She grumbled in exasperation, yanking the useless cord the rest of the way off and throwing it in the trash can. She drew a deep breath, then sighed it out. "I'll just have to put it away until I can find something to string it on that won't break every five minutes!" She said, holding her hand out for the charm.

Clark eyed the charm, but didn't hand it back. "Actually, I think my mom has some cord that would work. Why don't I take it home and string it and give it back tomorrow at school?" He offered.

She blinked in surprise, then smiled. "That would be really nice. Thanks, Clark." She said gratefully.

"No problem." Clark said, turning and leaving. He put the crystal in his pocket and started walking home. He knew it was stupid to play with meteor rock of any kind... but he desperately wanted to know exactly what this variety did to him. If he knew that, maybe he could understand what he was feeling.

He got home and did his chores quickly, then got a spare silk cord from his mother's craft supplies and retreated to his loft. Luck was with him and his mother's efforts as mediator appeared to be paying off. His father didn't try to confront him or go anywhere near the barn. Once again ignoring his homework, Clark focused instead on experimenting with the little crystal. He tried every experiment he could think of. Most of it involved looking through a magazine with and without the crystal around his neck. Still, he wasn't exactly a scientist, so interpreting the results of the tests was a bit of guess work. The only thing certain he discovered was that close contact appeared to be necessary, and the effects took somewhere between fifteen and twenty minutes to wear off after he lost contact with the crystal (he checked every five minutes, so further tests would be necessary for anything more accurate).

While the fact that it was affecting him was obvious, the precise nature and limits of what that effect was was difficult to determine. Well, he definitely noticed things about men when the crystal was with him that he never noticed without it. He'd probably leafed through the magazine he was using at least a couple of times cover to cover in the past. He remembered how many really hot young women it had plastered across the pages... but to be honest he hadn't really noticed the men in it. In fact, he was rather surprised with how many men there were! They were like background to him before. With that little crystal dangling against his chest, the magazine suddenly became twice as interesting! The couples were two unbelievably attractive people, not just a hot girl on the arm of a faceless suit like before. And man, did all of the guys in that magazine have incredible eyes!

Ok, so it made him attracted to guys... but he still liked the girls too, didn't he? They still looked attractive to him... but was it actual interest, or just a lingering notion from when he saw them before the crystal? He probably needed a new magazine that he'd never seen before to be sure, but he only had the one. He wouldn't even have that one if Lana hadn't forgotten it there one time and never remembered to retrieve it.

"You missed dinner, dear."

Clark jumped a little, his eyes darting up from the magazine. Much to his embarrassment his mother was standing there no more than a few feet away with a plate of food and a tall glass of iced tea. He quickly closed the magazine and dropped it on the couch next to him, hoping she didn't see that he'd been staring at that really hot guy with the sexily tousled hair, his billowing cotton shirt half off and the button of his tight jeans undone, giving the camera an unbelievably smoldering "fuck me" gaze. He wasn't sure what they were selling, but he was pretty sure people were buying it with advertising like that!

"I thought you might be hungry." She said, holding them out.

He quickly took the offerings.

"We're heading to bed. Get to sleep soon. You have school tomorrow." She said, going over to the corner and pulling out a blanket. She brought it over and draped it over the back of the couch, "And if you sleep here again, please cover up. It can get chilly at night."

"Thanks, mom." Clark said softly, "For everything."

She flashed him a little smile. "All part of my job description." She quipped. "Good night, Clark."

"Night, mom." He said.

She wandered back off towards the house.

Experiments forgotten for the moment, Clark dug into his food. When he was done eating, he took the plate over and set it where he'd remember to take it in in the morning. That he'd be sleeping out here again wasn't even a question in his mind. He still couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed by his father, and he didn't want to be anywhere near him for a while. Yes, he knew his father hadn't _meant_ to screw up Clark's life... but he had. Maybe if Clark could get this all ironed out somehow he'd be feeling more generous towards him... but for the moment he was finding it really hard to forgive him.

Not really ready for sleep, he went ahead and did his English paper. In fact, he just wished it'd taken longer. Once he'd decided what he wanted to write, it had only taken him about a minute to complete it... and that was just because he'd had to stop and sharpen the pencil three times.

He put his homework back away and wandered back over to the couch. He settled down on it, going back to his previous ponderings about the crystal and its effects on him. Well, yes, he obviously found many of those men very attractive and beautiful in a way he never had before, and he had to admit looking as those smooth, hard chests with rippling muscles gave him the urge to run his hand down them. Still, he'd been avoiding thinking too much about the more specifically _sexual_ desire part of it, but he supposed he'd have to explore that sooner or later... and he only had the crystal for tonight.

He used his x-ray vision, gazing over towards the house and making sure his parents were indeed both in bed. Once he was assured they appeared to be settled in for the night and wouldn't be walking in on him again, he picked the magazine back up and shifted his thoughts to sex. He had to ask himself if the attraction he felt for those men extended to actual sexual desire. Well, he quickly discovered it was hard to imagine with flat, still faces on a piece of paper (even with that windblown Adonis gazing at him), so he tossed aside the magazine once more and decided to use an example from his own life.

Tommy.

So he focused on the young man, picturing him in his mind. He'd seen him countless times at school, of course, but he had to focus on seeing him in the Talon the day before... because before that, Tommy had never made a real strong mental image in his head. It was strange how vividly he'd come into focus the minute Clark had that crystal in his hand. He could still remember how he looked, standing there in those tight jeans and thin, clinging cotton shirt. Then the mental image looked at him and gave him that brilliant smile, those unbelievably beautiful eyes gazing at him. There's no doubt, Tommy was what Chloe would call 'drool worthy'. It was embarrassing, but he tried to imagine himself kissing the boy... actually reaching out and running his hand over that flat, toned stomach, then taking him into his arms and pulling him close.

Clark opened his eyes, his brow furrowing. The thought had given him an unpleasant squirm in his stomach. He contemplated that, trying to figure out what unsettled him about the thought. The only conclusion he could come to was that it was because he simply didn't know the boy in any real way. He was barely what Clark would consider an acquaintance. When they'd spoken after class was probably the most they'd ever said to each other. Yes, thinking about it, that conversation definitely contained more words than all their other interactions up to that point combined. It would be like going up to some strange but hot girl and trying to make out with her. Sure you'd think that'd be cool... but Clark just wasn't the type to do something like that. The very idea made him blush.

So... what about a guy he knew well then? Well, he only really had one close male friend other than Lex, and that was Pete. "Ew!" Clark said involuntarily, reeling himself back from the mental image before he even got close to kissing him. Pete was a great friend and all... but with or without that necklace, he just wasn't Clark's type in _that_ way. It wasn't anything to do with race, as he'd found a number of dark skinned men quite appealing in that magazine. It just _way_ didn't feel right. In a way he was grateful he felt that way. Being able to think of Pete like that, crystal or no, would have made him feel really uncomfortable around him (whether Pete knew why or not).

So why had he been so instantly drawn to Lex? He thought back over their relationship, examining his feelings for the man. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that if Lex had been a girl he would have been very interested in him from the beginning. So many things about the man drew him... his personality, his sense of humor, his strength of character, his protective nature, the way he didn't let people push him around... and even that little hint of a dark, vindictive side he sometimes displayed fascinated Clark, though he was embarrassed to admit it, even to himself. He'd just never given a single thought to the sexual magnetism those traits held for him before. It was surprising when he thought about it. How could he possibly not have noticed how much everything about Lex appealed to him before? Heck, put him in Tommy's tight pants and clinging shirt and...

Clark let out a little groan and shifted, his pants suddenly uncomfortably tight. He looked down. Yep, hard as a rock. One little mental image of Lex, not even one of them _doing_ anything, and he was straining the stitching on his jeans. He should probably take the crystal off and see if he had the same reaction... but then he didn't think he could handle being in this 'condition' for the fifteen or twenty minutes it took for the effects to wear off... besides, he should probably start the 'test' _fresh_... and it was incredibly tempting to work out this little problem before moving on...

He rubbed himself slowly through his jeans, biting his lip and imagining running his hand over Lex's chest through thin cotton. Then again, he did love those nice button down shirts Lex liked to wear. Oh yeah... he imagined himself slowly pulling Lex's shirt open, popping off those buttons one by one as the cloth slowly parted, revealing that perfect, hairless chest. He imagined Lex looking up at him... that slow, seductive smile spreading across Lex's lips like it had on Sunday. He started trying to remember where he'd left his bottle of hand lotion...

"Clark?"

Clark's eyes shot open.

"Hey, Clark? You up there?" Chloe's voice called, coming closer.

Clark snatched up the spare blanket his mother had left and put it on his lap. Not a great disguise, but he didn't exactly have time to get rid of the problem.

"Ya, I'm up here." He called back.

Chloe bounced up the last few steps and walked over, plopping down on the couch beside him. "Hey there. I saw the light, so I figured you'd be here. I'm glad I don't have to pitch pebbles at your window or something... but why are you still out here this late?"

"I was kind of planning on staying out here tonight." Clark said, toying with the corner of the blanket and hoping she assumed he was about to go to sleep and that's why he had it there. "Me and my dad kind of got into it, and I just... I don't really want to be in the same house as him right now."

She reached over and took his hand, looking concerned, "You ok? What'd you argue about?"

Clark just shook his head, staring down at the blanket, "I don't really want to talk about it." He muttered.

"Ok..." She said, nodding her head. "Have you seen Lex yet?"

His eyes shot up in surprise, "No. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I just saw him. Lana was closing tonight, and I was giving her a ride home. He came in to get a cappuccino to go and check on an order." She said, watching him carefully.

"How... um... how did he look?" Clark asked, feeling a little uneasy.

"He looked fine." She said, "His wrist was wrapped, but that was it. He didn't move stiffly or act like he was in any kind of pain or anything. With how upset you were when you said you hurt him the other day I was afraid it was much worse."

"It looked really bad..." Clark said, stunned. Well, hopefully that meant he really hadn't had internal injuries. They had to operate for that, didn't they? And he'd hardly be walking around already if he had an operation. God, if he was ok... that was such a load off Clark's mind! He knew Chloe would never lie to him about anything like this, otherwise he wouldn't be able to believe it was true.

"You should really talk to him." She said coaxingly, "You two are such good friends... I don't know what happened Sunday, but whatever it was, I'm sure Lex will forgive you."

"Thanks for the advice." He said in a neutral voice.

She caught the subtle 'leave it alone' tone and desisted. She sighed and looped her arms around his arm and leaned closer, resting her head against his shoulder.

After the silence started drawing out a bit she obviously felt the need to fill it and started talking about the next issue of the Torch and how Kim Kwon was whining about how the picture of her face above her little gossip column wasn't color, and how she'd like the show the girl what she thought about her sleazy little column... something involving a lighter, but Clark wasn't really listening to what she was saying.

Clark couldn't help but enjoy the way she was kind of cuddled up to him and the way her leg was pressed up against his. She was wearing a somewhat short skirt that day and it had shifted up a bit on the side when she sat down, so it showed some of her thigh. Continuing his earlier ponderings, he turned his attention to her and how he felt about her. He gazed at her, watching her face as she spoke. She was just staring forward, going on and on like she often did. He liked the way her lips moved. He'd always found her attractive. He'd never had a problem fantasizing about her... and he quickly found that now was no exception. In fact, it was a lot easier while they were alone together and she was wearing that skirt. The hair was really growing on him too. It seemed to almost glow in the muted lighting, surrounding her face like a warm red halo.

He slid his hand onto her exposed knee. Her eyes went wide and her speech faltered. She looked down at the hand, then hesitantly up at Clark, realizing for the first time that he was staring at her. She just sat there, staring back, her mouth half open but unable to make herself ask what he was doing.

He leaned over, kissing her. Her eyes fluttered shut and she immediately leaned into it. It was wonderful! He parted his lips and she took the opening. Her tongue darted across his, sending shivers of pleasure through him. She wasn't as good as Lex, but...

He quickly blocked out the thought, concentrating on the feel of her. Her hand strayed down and he felt the blanket pulled off, then he suddenly found her straddling his lap. Well, arousal certainly wasn't a problem. He was already achingly hard once more. Almost without thought, his hands slipped up from her waist and on up under her shirt... sliding up until they each cradled one of her breasts. They were firm but yielding, the heat of her body radiating through the thin material of her bra tantalizingly. He rubbed his thumbs over her firm nipples through the material and she broke the kiss with a moan of desire.

Chloe reached down and tugged off her shirt, then unclasped her bra. He gladly let her slip the thin material out of the way. He gazed at her breasts while he very gently massaged them. He'd barely ever even brushed a breast through a shirt before. They were just as amazing as he'd always imagined they would be. God, he wanted to know what they'd feel like pressed against him. He shifted back slightly, quickly pulling his t-shirt off, then pulled her close, moaning softly as he felt her flesh burning against his. It felt amazing. He could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she pressed herself up against him, nothing between them but the little pink crystal around his neck.

He let up on her and pushed her back a bit, leaning his head down and giving her nipple a lick. She shivered. He took the nipple into his mouth and sucked on it ever so gently, running his tongue over it at the same time. Chloe shuddered and moaned against him, grabbing a handful of his hair and pressing him closer. She shifted around a little as he suckled at her breast. He heard a zipper, then felt a little tug of material. Chloe shifted closer still, her hips pressing up against him.

He reached down, sliding his hand down to cup her butt... and found she was down to some rather small lace underwear. He shifted his head back, looking down to confirm it. Yep. Nothing but blue lace. She pulled him back over, claiming his lips hungrily as she reached down, unbuttoning and unzipping his pants.

Suddenly it dawned on Clark that this wasn't about Chloe. This was about him. This was him trying to prove to himself that he wasn't gay. He was leading her on, making her think he wanted her when he knew he wasn't really going to have sex with her. He couldn't. He didn't even have the meager protection of that necklace Lex had given him, not to mention his anatomy would do her serious damage even without super strength.

He pulled his lips away from hers and turned his head, disgusted with himself for what he'd been doing. How could he have used her like this? She was one of his closest friends, and he'd known she wanted to be more. He just wanted to prove to himself that he _wanted_ to have sex with her. What if he'd deluded himself too well and let things get out of hand before he could stop himself? What if he'd given her hope that they would be so much more than just friends and now she'd be crushed and hate him? She'd have every right to be mad at him, too. The realization of how selfish and inconsiderate he was being to Chloe cleared the lust fog from his brain almost instantly. Clark gently pulled her hands away from his pants, "We should stop." He panted.

"Why?" Chloe groaned a bit petulantly, trying to reclaim his lips.

He turned his head away again and shifted back, "I don't want to lead you on, and this can't go much further." he said firmly.

"Why not?" Chloe asked, looking at him with a hurt expression. "Because I'm not _Lana?" _She asked, giving the little crystal a flick with her finger.

Clark let out an exasperated sigh, "You know what? Cut it out already with the massive inferiority complex! If I wanted to be with Lana, I'd _be_ with Lana. I'm not, now am I?"

Chloe flinched a bit from the reprimand, dropping her eyes. She sat there for a moment, then said tentatively, "Then what's the problem?"

"I don't want to hurt you." Clark said gently, "And besides, I don't..." He trailed off with embarrassment, then took a breath and forced it out, "I don't have any protection, ok?"

Her sadness instantly melted away, "Oh!" She said in surprise, then a smile broke across her face, "Wait! I do! I still have that condom they handed out in that horrible Sex Ed class..." She said, climbing off his lap and to the other end of the couch, grabbing up her purse.

He let out a little groan, "It's not going to work, Chloe." He said sadly, "It won't fit."

"Oh come on, Clark. These things are pretty much one size fits all!" She replied, pulling it out.

"No," He said evenly, "They're one size fits _most_. I just don't happen to be 'average'."

Chloe giggled, dropping her purse down beside the couch, "Oh please, Clark!" She said mirthfully, "I know this is _Small_ville, but a big, strapping farm boy like you certainly can't be _that_ small!"

He rolled his eyes, then shifted up his hips and pushed his jeans down.

Chloe's eyes went round as she gazed down at his straining boxers. "Um... Clark... did you happen to lose a really big flashlight? Or perhaps the entire contents of your sock drawer?"

"You still think that thing would fit me?" Clark asked with a hint of sad sarcasm.

Chloe eyed the little condom package, then sighed and tossed it back down into her purse. She gazed down at his boxers for a long moment, then she reached out, running her fingers over him through the thin cloth.

Clark shut his eyes and let out a little involuntary groan as he twitched against her fingers. She quickly grew bolder, pressing her hand firmly against him. "Chloe, please!" He panted, "Don't start what we can't finish. Even if I had a condom that would fit... I'd hurt you. I don't think I can be with a woman until I know for sure she's the one I want to be with for the rest of my life..."

"Cause you'd probably ruin her for other guys!" She said teasingly, her eyes still glued to the bulge she was running her fingers over.

"Exactly." He sighed sadly, "So I have to be sure first... and I'm not. Please don't take that wrong, though. I just... I really like you, and I care about you... but sixteen is a bit young to be making lifetime commitments."

She pulled her gaze away from his boxers, looking up at him, a great sadness entering her eyes. "So that's why you always seem to pull away whenever you're getting close. I'm sorry I've been so bitchy to you whenever you pushed me away. I should have known you were just trying to protect me. You always are."

"I just don't want to hurt anyone. If I ever tried to have sex with a virgin..."

Chloe grimaced at the thought. As much as she desperately wanted to have sex with him, she knew that it probably would be horribly painful. She nodded thoughtfully, then a little, tentative smile slipped over her lips. "Still... you don't have to be a complete _monk_ until you find that special girl, you know... There _are_ things you can do without going all the way. Things that would probably feel _really_ good..." She said temptingly.

He couldn't bring himself to ask her what exactly she was implying... but she didn't wait for him to ask. She started tugging down his tight boxers. He knew he really, _really_ shouldn't... but he found himself shifting his hips up again and pushing his boxers down out of the way for her.

She couldn't take her eyes off him as she started touching him tentatively. From the look of wonder on her face he strongly suspected she'd never really seen one before. Well, never up close in real life at any rate. He idly wondered if all the other boys she would ever be with in the future would hate him for raising her expectations to such a ridiculous level.

Such musings instantly vanished when she leaned down. His breath caught in his chest as she kissed it right on the tip. He closed his eyes and shivered as her warm breath tingled over his swollen flesh. There were a million reasons why he should stop her right now... but they scattered and disappeared when she tentatively started using her hot tongue. He let out an groan of pleasure.

Emboldened by the pleasure she was obviously giving the boy she loved so dearly, Chloe pressed on, taking him in her mouth and starting to suck on him. She couldn't even get half of him in, but he didn't seem to be objecting. To be honest, she'd never been able to comprehend the allure of going down on a boy. Ok, obviously the boy had good reason to enjoy it, but she'd never understood why some girl said they enjoyed doing it. She understood completely now. Seeing and hearing the pleasure she was giving Clark... feeling his body responding to her... it was the most amazing feeling.

Clark moaned in ecstasy, shifting down a bit to give her a better angle. He knew he never should have even thought about trying this without at least putting that resin necklace on, but he couldn't even make himself think about stopping her now. He pushed up to meet that welcoming mouth and questing tongue, but it took every ounce of restraint he had to keep from thrusting hard enough to throw her... or worse. It was obvious she didn't really have much (if any) experience at this... but she had an amazing learning curve! God, he had the almost irresistible urge to grab her hair, but he was sure anything he did after that would probably kill her, so he fought it off. He clutched the back of the couch with one hand, the arm of the couch with the other. He could feel the sturdy piece of wood running along the back of the couch for support compressing in his grasp and knew he'd ruin the couch entirely if this lasted much longer.

"Chloe," He panted desperately, "Chloe we need to stop..."

She let up on him and he let out a little gasp of relief... but then she quickly shifted closer and straddled him.

"Chloe, what are you doing?" he asked in alarm, looking down and noting she'd somehow gotten out of her underwear by this point as well.

"Not putting you inside me, if that's what you're thinking." She panted as she settled down on him, starting to rub against his achingly hard flesh. "But I think I should get at least a little pleasure out of this too, don't you?" She said in a low, husky voice.

He closed his eyes, his hips starting to rut him up against her without waiting for his mind to agree. Chloe groaned rapturously as she writhed on top of him. Lubrication certainly wouldn't be a problem!

Clark just gave in, not even able to make himself put up a fight. He kept his hands latched firmly onto the couch, but let her use his willing body. Much to his chagrin, he found himself thinking about Lex. He opened his eyes and gazed up at Chloe's enraptured face, the way her breasts bounced as she pleasured herself, the bright flush of arousal on her skin across her collar bones and leading down between those perfect breasts... the sight of her was amazing... it was more than he'd ever imagined. Perfect save for the fact that he wasn't actually sheathed inside that beautiful body. Still, this was even better than he'd ever imagined sex with her would be... so why did he keep closing his eyes?

In his mind he just remembered Lex on top of him, the pleasure on his face... the smooth, hairless perfection of his body as he undulated on top of him. God how he'd wanted to reach down and stroke Lex like Lex's body was stroking him. Chloe started to shake against him and he imagined Lex's face as he finished. Clark called out as he thrust up, his peak raging through his body.

As he slowly came back down, he realized she was pressed against him, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. "You ok, Chloe?" he panted worriedly.

"As long as you're not going to try to throw me again." She said with a hint of mirthful teasing. "Is it safe to let go now?"

"Sorry!" He quickly apologized, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment, "Ya, I'm done."

"Well no kidding!" She said, shifting up a bit. He'd left quite a mess across both of their bellies and trailing up nearly to his neck.

"Sorry about that... it gets a bit messy when..." He trailed off, feeling mortified.

"That's ok." She said, shifting back down and resting her head on his shoulder, just holding him silently.

Clark wasn't sure what he should do now. He'd never intended for things to go this far. He was incredibly relieved she was still intact and apparently undamaged... but he was afraid she was going to take this wrong. He couldn't stand the thought of deceiving her. Not about this.

"Chloe..." He said gently, slipping his arms around her, "That was amazing... really it was. I've never been... _intimate_ with a girl before... and I'll always remember it, and I will always love the fact that _you_ were the first girl I've... _been with_... kind of been with anyway."

She smiled against him, holding him a bit tighter.

He wished he could leave it at that, but he knew he couldn't in good conscience, "But what I said before... about not being ready to..."

"Shut up, Clark." Chloe said, nuzzling up to him more.

"I just don't want you to think..." He continued.

She reached up and pressed her hand over his mouth, silencing him. "I know what you're saying, Clark. I'm just telling you to stop. I get it. Really. You're not misleading me." She let her hand slide off his mouth.

He shifted his head around so he could see her. She gazed back with sad eyes, but a little half smile on her lips. "I've known for a while now that we were never going to be together. Making that realization stick just takes a bit of getting used to. This wasn't me trying to win your love or anything ridiculous like that. If anything... this was more about me getting this, getting the notion of _us,_ out of my system." She stroked his cheek lovingly, "You are the most loving, caring, _amazing_ boy I've ever met, and I'm never going to find another like you. You would be absolutely _perfect_ for me... but we both know I'm not perfect for you."

"Chloe..." He started sadly.

She pushed her fingertips to his mouth again, "Not done talking, Clark."

She took her fingers away, but he dutifully remained silent.

"As I was saying... I'm ok with that. Admittedly, I wasn't at first..." She conceded, giving him a sad little smile, "But there's no point trying to make us fit together when we just weren't meant to. Not like this anyway." She said, glancing down at his naked flesh sadly. She laid her head back down on his shoulder. "Your heart was meant for someone else, and I think we both know that. I admit, I'm a bit jealous of whomever that lucky person might be... but I'm not going to try to mess up your chances of being happy. I love you too much for that."

"But... you'll still be my friend, won't you?" Clark asked worriedly.

Chloe smiled, "Clark, true friendship never goes away. Sure we might get mad at each other on occasion, but we'll always forgive and forget in the end. Friendship is a bond of _love_, whether those friends want to admit that or not. I just had to realize what kind of love you and I shared."

"So... you're ok with just being friends...?" He asked tentatively. He never really expected her to give up on the possibility of them being together. Not that he minded! He did care for her very deeply... he just didn't really want to marry her or anything. Though, judging from her performance tonight, that might have been interesting...

She gave a little chuckle, "There's no 'just' about being friends with you, Clark. That makes it sound like a conciliation prize. You're the best friend anyone could ever hope to have."

He hugged her gently to him, his eyes irritatingly watery. "I do love you, Chloe." He whispered, "I've always known that... I just didn't say it because I didn't think you'd understand what I meant before."

She hugged him tightly and they just held each other for a time.

"Um... Clark...?" She said after a few minutes.

"Ya?" He asked.

"I'm kinda getting cold."

He laughed and let go of her. She got up and he grabbed up his shirt off the floor. They used it to clean up the mess and then got their remaining clothes back on. They sat there for a minute after they were dressed, not sure exactly what to do next.  
>"Well." Chloe said with forced cheerfulness. "I should get going! It's a school night!" She got up and grabbed up her bag, throwing it onto her shoulder.<p>

"Thanks, Chloe." Clark said quickly before she could leave, "For everything... and especially for understanding."

She cocked her head to the side and gave him a little smile, "I'm very good at understanding when given the chance, Clark. You should try me more often."

He gave her a little nod.

She started for the stairs, but then stopped and turned back, "Oh, and Clark..." She said, her grin getting mischievous, "If neither of us are seeing anyone and you feel the need for a little... _release_... I wouldn't mind visiting your little fortress of solitude and making it a little less solitary. I mean what are friends for if they can't help each other out with a little bit of sexual frustration now and then?"

Clark laughed, rolling his eyes at her, "Chloe!"

She gave an exaggerated shrug, "What? Just saying!" She said, tromping down the stairs, "Something to keep in mind!" She called back as she made her way out of the barn.

Clark let out an amused breath, leaning back against the couch. He let out an exasperated sigh as the distressed wood gave under his weight and the back of the couch sagged, having lost its support. He ignored it for now. He'd figure out how to fix it later. He shifted around, resting his head on the arm of the couch (which was wobbly, but reasonably intact), gazing up at the high vaulted rafters of the barn, thinking about what she'd said about friendship.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

Chloe slipped into the driver's seat of her car and tossed her purse in the other seat. She closed the door and put on her seat belt, then stared sightlessly out through the windshield for a minute. She just couldn't stop hearing Clark's voice in her head... hearing what he'd called out when he'd peaked. Admittedly, she'd never expected him to call out her own name in such a situation... but she certainly hadn't been expecting that!

Her heart ached for Clark. He must be so very confused right now! She knew he'd been wrestling with some dark secret... fighting some intense inner turmoil... but that's certainly not what she imagined it would be about! Well, if that's where his heart was, she would support him... and God knows she'd always felt the almost primal attraction between the two of them... had always thought they seemed to fit together like two halves of the same whole... but if that bald bastard broke Clark's heart she'd kill him herself!

She took a deep breath and sighed it out, then turned on the car, slipping it into drive. "Well, at least he didn't call me _Lana_." She muttered as she pulled away.

- 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 - 0 – 0 – 0 -

A/N – I'm still going back and forth on what I want to happen in chapter 6, but I'm fairly certain this chapter is how I want it to be either way. Besides, I could use a little motivation, and though I know not to expect too much I'm hoping for at least a couple of reviews. I actually didn't plan on waiting this long to post this, but I've been without internet for almost a week! Oh God it was Hell... I'm gonna post this now, in case (God forbid) anything happens to it again. (if you notice this was reposted, I just realized it somehow lost about a dozen edits, so I fixed it and reposted-just spelling type stuff)


	5. Alienation

Chapter 5  
>Alienation<p>

Wednesday didn't start off looking any better than the previous two days. It was reassuring to know he wasn't gay, but that didn't change the fact that Lex had been wandering through his dreams all night... and no, he hadn't been anywhere near that crystal! Sure, he'd had some steamy dreams before, what teenaged boy hadn't? But that night they were incessant... and yet maddeningly teasing since he could never quite get anywhere. They would make out, and then something would interrupt them. Usually someone would walk in. One of their fathers, or one time it was Linda. One time they got all the way to the point of being naked in bed and Lex had gotten him on his hands and knees and shifted up behind him... but then nothing. He'd looked around and saw that Lex had vanished. He was alone on the bed... which then somehow turned into a deserted island. He'd searched and searched for Lex, but he was nowhere to be found. He'd finally thrown himself down on the sand and sobbed in frustration. Then Lex walked up, standing over him and casting his shadow on him as he just gazed down, the sun blazing behind him like a fiery halo. Clark just lay there, staring up at him. Lex knelt down beside him and reached down, grabbing a hold of him. Clark moaned wantonly as Lex shifted down, taking him in his mouth like Chloe had... and then...

Clark had woken up! What kind of maddening bullshit was that? He was really glad it was early when he'd woken, because he'd had to work out the... um... 'issue' the dreams had caused.

Twice.

Breakfast with his parents had been a rather quiet affair, followed by Clark quickly leaving, not even waiting for the bus, though it made him really early. He'd just gone to his first class, taken his seat and waited. The teacher had been a bit surprised to see him there when she arrived, but seemed to sense his mood and didn't say anything as she prepared for class.

The school day passed in a haze once more. He'd passed the math test with a B, but that hardly cheered him up. At lunch he ran into Lana, and he'd returned her necklace. He wasn't sure if he was happy or sad to see it go, but he was definitely relieved when the last bell finally rang.

He walked slowly towards his locker, still lost in thought.

"Clark! Hey, I'm talking to you!"

Clark blinked in surprise, coming to a stop and looking over at the petite Japanese girl who had been pacing him, waving her hand in front of his face.

"Oh, sorry, Kim. I was just thinking about something." He replied, embarrassed at the slip. He really had to start paying attention to his surroundings!

"Ok, whatever." She said quickly, pulling out an eight by ten photo of herself and handing it to him. "I've got to run to catch my ride. Could you drop this by the Torch for me? Today's the deadline for entries, and I don't want that lame picture they have on file on top of my column again! That haircut I have in it is _so _five minutes ago!"

He looked down at the photo, then what she'd said sank in and he suddenly realized he'd once again forgotten to write the article he'd promised Chloe. He saw that she was waiting for an answer and quickly flashed her a smile. "Sure. I was heading there anyway." He said.

"Sweet!" She said, then tromped off without so much as a thank you.

Clark sighed deeply. He'd let Chloe down again. He hadn't even bothered to think up a basis for an article, let alone written it! He went to his locker and chunked his extra books in, then retrieved his book bag, slipping the book he'd need for his homework in it. He tossed the bag onto his shoulder, then closed his locker very gently to keep from smashing it he was so frustrated with himself. What had happened between them the night before made this new bit of failure feel ten times worse.

The unwritten article weighed heavily on his mind, replaced thoughts of Lex for the first time in days. What was there to even write about? There were only so many prime opportunities for good, investigative articles available to a high school 'reporter'... and Chloe had pretty much managed to corner the market on those. There were always community events to report on... but the only thing of any interest that had happened in Smallville in the past couple of weeks was that market, and that was such a subdued event it would take some major effort to liven it up enough to get high school kids to read about it! Perhaps if he'd interviewed some of the more colorful vendors or something, but he hadn't, and he could think of no way to make what he'd gleaned by just walking around into a story of interest. Well, unless of course he told them what happened that afternoon at the castle! But he'd never do that, not to mention this was a pretty 'straight' community, so anything even remotely racy would most likely earn nothing but ridicule. He'd seen kids being taunted and teased to tears over far less.

Clark slowed, then came to a stop, thinking about that. He thought about those kids. The one's who's only crime was being a bit different. He'd always been different... always been a 'freak'... but he'd been able to hide it, so no one else knew. It wasn't easy hiding who you really are. How many other kids were there just like him? Well, ok not space aliens with super powers, but people who had to hide who they really were inside everyday for fear of being ridiculed or worse? It didn't seem right.

Clark looked down the hall, eyeing the door to the computer science lab. He happened to know that Mr. Sims, the teacher who ran the lab, went down to the teacher's lounge every day at the end of the school day and filled his travel mug with coffee and flirted with the French teacher before closing down the lab for the night. Chloe had told him as much a week or so ago. She'd been keeping an eye on them. She didn't say why, but Clark suspected it was in hopes that an newsworthy scandal would reveal itself if she kept watching. Mr. Sims was married.

Clark wound his way through the sparse crowd of remaining students, then found an open space against the wall. He leaned back against it, pulling out his notebook and pretending to look through it. Sure enough, a minute later Mr. Sims emerged with his silver travel mug in hand. He whistled softly as he made his way down the hall. Clark closed his notebook as the door to the teacher's lounge closed behind the man.

- 0 – 0 – 0 –

Mr. Sims bid the French teacher goodbye, watching the hypnotic sway of her shapely backside as she walked away. He took a deep breath and sighed it out, then made his way back to his classroom. As he entered, he looked up in surprise, seeing the door on the other side of the lab drifting shut. His eyes darted down as he heard the soft whine of the printer as it tapered away. It only made that sound for a few seconds after printing, and yet there was no paper in the output tray. He just shrugged, then went back over to his desk, settling down and going to work grading assignments.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

"Discovering soybeans in the cafeteria burgers isn't exactly earth shattering news."

Chloe started, her head whipping around only to find Clark standing mere inches behind her, reading her computer screen over her shoulder. "Dang it, Clark! You have to stop sneaking up on people!" She said, clutching her chest dramatically.

He gave a little snort. "It's not hard to sneak up on you when you're in editor mode, Chloe." He said a bit teasingly.

She straightened up, "Speaking of which, it's the deadline. Where's that article you promised me?"

"Um..." Clark said uneasily, avoiding her gaze and shifting from foot to foot.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "You forgot, didn't you?" She sighed in exasperation.

"Sorry." He said, flashing her a little apologetic smile.

"Oh don't give me that expression!" She said, turning studiously away, "Those big, innocent blue eyes and earnest 'I'm sorry' look can only save your butt so many times, and you surpassed that limit two missed articles ago! I also wouldn't go criticising writers who actually bothered _handing in_ their articles!" Then she added in an undertone, "No matter how boring those articles may be."

"I know I end up saying this to you a lot, but I really am sorry." Clark said softly, tilting his head down a bit and gazing up at her sadly.

She glanced over at him, then let out a whine and studiously turned away, "Don't pull the big puppydog eyes on me either!" She took a deep breath and sighed it out. "How am I supposed to put out an edition with only this pap to fill it?"

"I'm sure you'll come up with something, Chloe. You always do." He said, his warm smile conveying his whole hearted faith in her as an editor. "Oh, and I saw Kim Kwon in the hallway and she asked me to give you this." He said, handing her the glossy photo of the overly perky girl.

Chloe sighed moodily. "I swear, I'm going to kick Kwon's butt if she doesn't stop it with the same old picture argument! I'm probably just going to have to make this one black and white too! Having color on the page increases the printing costs, and I'm not doing that just for little Miss Tattletale's face! And why does she think I need a poster sized picture? I'm just going to have to scan it in and shrink it to the size of a postage stamp, and with the resolution restrictions we have she's going to look the same no matter what I do!"

She stopped there, trying to reel herself in. She wasn't really mad at Kim. Ok, she was irritated with her, but mostly she was upset with Clark. Why did he always let her down? And why did he always make it so utterly impossible to stay mad at him? Then again, she supposed he did have a lot on his mind right now. She gave another sigh, tossing the photo on the scanner to scan in later and started to flip through the articles she had for this edition again, trying to decide what to make a size twenty font to make up for the missing article. "Where are the murderous meteor freaks running rampant when you need them?" She muttered moodily.

Clark just let out an amused breath and rested his hand comfortingly on her shoulder.

She closed her eyes, not wanting to admit how much she loved the feel of him touching her, no matter how chaste the touch was.

"Hey, Chloe!" Pete said as he strolled in. "You get my article about the soybeans?"

"Got it!" She replied cheerfully, hiding her disappointment as she felt Clark's hand quickly slip away. She looked up at him, then couldn't help but grin at the slight embarrassed flash that crossed his face when he realized he'd been poking fun at his friend's article.

"Looks riveting." Clark added with an innocent grin.

Chloe had to try hard not to roll her eyes. It was almost disturbing how convincingly Clark could lie to people's faces sometimes.

Pete of course ignored the false flattery, "I know, I know. It's not exactly Pulitzer material. I was hoping to find something shocking, but those lunch ladies have been extra careful ever since that story Chloe wrote last year. If they're doing anything shady in there, they're get pretty dang good at hiding it!"

Chloe gave him a supportive sigh, "Revisiting ground that's already been covered rarely brings up anything really juicy in my experience. You need to catch people unaware if you want to get to the bottom of stuff!"

"From the hunching of your shoulders I'm going to hazard a guess that Clark forgot to write his article again." Pete ventured with a mischievous smile.

"Like that was a hard guess." Chloe muttered, poking at her keyboard a bit harder than necessary.

Clark sighed, "I said I was sorry."

Pete glanced over, noticing something, "Wow. We really got a voluntary student submission?" He said, taking a couple sheets of paper out of the wire mesh basket just inside the door. "Usually you have to practically beat articles out of people!"

Chloe's eyes went wide, "Really? Let me see that!"

Pete hurried over, handing it to her.

She snatched it from his hand the minute it was within reach. "Decent formatting, good length." She said, flipping up the first page and noting that it had filled almost the entire second sheet as well, "Heck, I might even get to drop the lunch menu font down below thirty for the first time this year!"

"See?" Clark said with a little smile, patting her shoulder briefly, "I knew you'd find something. I gotta get going. I have chores to do. See ya!" He said, hitching up his backpack a bit, then walking out.

Chloe just muttered a vague goodbye, absorbed in reading the new submission. Pete leaned in to read it as well.

- 0 -

Alienation

by Anonymous

I know submitting this anonymously will be viewed by some as cowardly... and perhaps I _am_ a coward about this particular subject. It's something no one seems to want to discuss, but it's something I've come to feel _needs_ to be discussed. I've always felt different. Like an alien living on this planet, trying to integrate myself into human society and go unnoticed... but there are so many things that I just can't comprehend about what is considered 'normal' human behavior.

It goes beyond not understanding the more barbaric customs and rituals like bullying, hatred and bigotry. Females are one of the biggest mysteries to me. I know, it's not that unusual for a teenaged boy like myself to be baffled by members of the opposite sex, but I have honestly come to think of them as aliens as well... just not aliens from whatever planet _I_ came from! Their thoughts, their feelings, the games they play... they are all so maddeningly incomprehensible!

Yes, I do most definitely like girls. I've even thought I might have loved one a time or two. Yes, many girls have told me that they find me attractive, so it's not a matter of lack of interest on their part. Still, no matter how hard I have tried to capture one of these elusive creatures for my own, it has never really worked out. Something always gets in the way. The few times my attempts weren't thwarted by their unfathomable moods or logic, something else always seemed to stop me. It just never felt right, no matter how hard I desperately wanted it to. Somehow things just never really clicked into place like they should. Sad, but also a predictable part of being a teenaged boy from what I've been told.

Now I'm getting to the part that threw me. The event that has gotten me completely mixed up in the head. I have this friend. Almost since I first met him I felt a kind of connection with him. In barely any time at all we bonded, becoming the best of friends. He is someone I trust, someone who is always there when I need him. He's not perfect, but he has a good heart and he has never let me down.

Not long ago, something very unexpected happened between us. I will admit that I was under the influence of a mind altering substance at the time (yet another reason why I'm keeping this anonymous!). We were just talking and suddenly I found myself kissing him. I've never found him (or any other male for that matter) sexually attractive before, but for some reason kissing him felt like the most natural thing in the world. Everything seemed to suddenly click in a way it never had with any of the girls I've kissed before. Though he'd never shown the slightest indication he felt anything like that about me before, he obviously felt something at the time as well. We did things together that day that I had never in my wildest dreams imagined doing with another male... and yet it was amazing! For the first time in my life I felt like I belonged right where I was... I finally felt in harmony with this world.

No, I'm not trying to advocate homosexuality, and no, it doesn't end there. Once I'd sobered up and fully realized what we'd done, at first I'll admit I was a bit horrified. I'd lost control of myself, liberated from my usual self restraint and worries of what was expected of me for just a moment, and _this_ is what I chose to do? It shook the very foundation of my preconceived notions about myself and who I am. It wasn't that I've ever had anything against homosexuals, as homophobia is yet another mindset I simply cannot fathom. Still, I was raised as a typical red blooded American boy in the heartland. I was always taught you grew up, got a job or took over a family business, found yourself a girl and married her, had kids and lived happily ever after. One of the biggest fears that entered my head was how my parents would react if they ever found out. I'm just not sure they could ever understand. I'm not completely sure even _I_ understand. No, I have not told them and I'm still hoping and praying that they never find out.

So, if you haven't stopped reading this yet, you might be wondering how I'm feeling about this now that the initial fear and panic has calmed a bit, other than still being afraid of people finding out of course. I've been doing a lot of thinking since it happened. While I _still_ don't find other males enticing, I have to admit that thinking about my friend, even completely sober, still makes my mind go places I know it shouldn't. It's not males I'm attracted to... it's just _him_. I just can't make myself stop thinking about him, no matter how hard I try. I find it disconcerting in a way, and I definitely fear what this will do to our relationship, but I can't bring myself to regrete that it happened. I can't even deny that I want it to happen again. Not for reasons you're probably all assuming. Ok, yes, physically it felt amazing, but what I desire more than anything is to feel that intense emotional connection with a person I care deeply about once more.

I don't know if he feels the same. I haven't been able to face him since it happened. Perhaps he'll want nothing more to do with me... and while that would kill me, I could completely understand and would of course respect his wishes if that's how he feels. The fear that he'll reject me now is what's torn at me the most. I don't know if I could handle him disappearing from my life. I just can't imagine my life without him. That fear is what's kept me away from him. I'm going to talk to him. I am. I need to, whether it goes the way I hope or the way I fear. I just wanted to write this first, to share this struggle with you before it had a resolution one way or the other.

I have not come to any huge revelation about life or my sexuality. No, I am not in any way trying to 'come out', especially since, despite this event and my lingering feelings for my best friend, I honestly don't think I'm gay. I have no idea where I'm going from here, or even how things stand between me and my closest friend. So, if I don't have any answers to the millions of questions this brings up, why am I writing this article you might ask. I'm writing it because I strongly suspect I'm not the only one with questions like these plaguing them. I know the vast majority of people reading this will just blow me off or ridicule me openly. I really couldn't care less about those people. I'm writing this because of how I felt after this first happened. Like I was completely alone. Like no one would ever understand what I'd done. Like I'd finally proven myself so utterly alien that no human could ever accept me. At times I just wanted to run away and hide... but then I realized that I can't run away from myself.

My story may not have resolved itself yet, but I've finally come to terms with who I am. I'm not typical. I don't fit into the standard mold. I don't fully understand myself yet, and I don't really expect to any time soon. The one thing I _do_ know is that no matter what happens, this is who I am... and I'm ok with that. I can't change it, and I'm not going to try to. This message is for those few people out there who know what I mean. It doesn't matter if what makes you feel different is your sexuality or something entirely unrelated. I'm speaking to the ones who feel like outsiders, and are afraid of other people discovering their secrets. I wrote this for the other aliens hiding in plain sight. I wanted you to know that you're not alone.

- 0 -

Chloe stared at the paper, her eyes getting a bit watery. She knew exactly who had written this. She'd known something had happened, that he'd been struggling... but this just broke her heart. She just wanted to hold him and tell him everything would be alright... but she wasn't sure it would be. She'd have to pay closer attention to him... because if this went badly, he was definitely going to need someone. He'd just never admit it.

Pete finished reading and straightened up. "You're not actually going to print that, are you?"

Chloe darted her eyes over to him, "Why wouldn't I?" She asked in surprise.

"It's just a bit... I dunno... _gay?"_ He said hesitantly.

"And?" She replied, "What are you? A homophobe?"

"No!" He shot back immediately, "It's just..." He shifted from one foot to the other, obviously uneasy with the subject, but not sure exactly how to phrase it, "It's hard enough getting any respect for this paper when it's meteor freaks and two headed dogs or whatever that we're writing about."

"First point," Chloe said, holding up a finger, "I have never written a story about a two headed dog. It was a _cat_. Second of all, it's called_ freedom of speech_, Pete. Get it, or get out! This is a legitimate submission by one of our fellow students, and I'm not about to be the one to censor him just because he is expressing some ambiguous sexuality. It's a human interest story. Well, actually an _alien_ interest story I guess, but around here that's pretty much the same thing, isn't it?" She said with a little grin, "I mean come on! It's reasonably well written, it doesn't contain any curse words or descriptions of a graphic nature, so the principle would have no legitimate reason to complain. I think it's a perfectly acceptable submission, and I'm printing it! Heck, with as tame as the other stories are for this issue, I might even make it front page!"

"Are you serious?" Pete asked dubiously.

"OH!" Chloe exclaimed suddenly, "I need to see if I can catch that girl from my art class before she leaves! I bet she could make me an awesome graphic to go along with this!" She said excitedly, hopping up and dashing out.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

Clark looked up at the castle. His parents thought he was studying in his loft. He'd forced himself to go in the house and have dinner with them (that was just as quiet and tense as breakfast had been!), and with luck his mother wouldn't try to check on him. It had been hard finding the courage to come here... but at the same time, it'd been even harder just waiting to be able to sneak out without them noticing. Still... the castle looked even more imposing in the gathering darkness. Many of the windows were lit up, though, so hopefully Lex was home. There were a number of cars parked out front, but Lex owned so many cars and switched between them so often that it didn't necessarily mean he was there.

He went up to the door. He thought about knocking... even lifted his hand, fist ready... but then he imagined a servant answering. What exactly would he say to them? That he wanted to talk to Lex? Ok... lame, but truthful... but what if they said no? What if they said Lex didn't want to see him? He didn't think he could just push past them in good conscience, but he _had_ to talk to Lex!

Well, he'd just remove the middle man from the equation. If Lex wanted him to leave, he could tell him that straight to his face. Clark at least wanted a chance to say... well, whatever came to mind, because to be honest he still hadn't figured out what to say. He'd hoped the words would come to him when the moment arrived.

He braced himself before he could lose his nerve, opening the door and slipping in. Well, the servants were certainly all there tonight! He had to dodge five people before he made it to Lex's office. He slipped in, but found it empty. He was about to slip back out when he heard someone coming. He waited, listening at the door so he'd know when they were past.

"Did you make sure the scotch is in the sitting room? Mr. Luthor wants that for the night cap, and desert is already being served." He man walking down the hallway was saying.

There was an electronic sounding click. "Yes, sir." A feminine voice replied, sounding as if it was coming from a walkie-talkie.

"Make sure everything is ready." The man said, almost to the door, "I'm getting the papers he needs from his office."

Clark saw the doorknob start to turn.

The man walked in and crossed the darkened office towards the desk. He spun around and looked behind him, but the room was empty save for him. "Could have sworn I saw something." he muttered to himself, still glancing around nervously as he grabbed up the folder off the desk. "Man, this place is creepy at night." He said, shaking his head and going back to his duties.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

Clark made his way towards the dining room. If Lex was having dessert, he was most likely there. He had to dodge several more servants along the way. There certainly were a lot of them tonight! He couldn't remember seeing so many here all at once. Usually it was just a couple here and there, especially in the evening. He pulled his attention back ahead of him as he walked into the dinning room... then froze in his tracks.

Lex was there... but so where half a dozen other people! They were standing around one of the side tables, just chatting as they selected their desserts while several maids cleared the dinner plates from the table. The tall, middle aged man talking to Lex spotted Clark standing there.

"Is this a late comer?" He asked with a smile.

Lex turned, spotting Clark. Surprise flickered ever so briefly over his face, then he forced a smile. "No... that would be Clark Kent. He's a local resident and a good friend of mine. I don't believe I told him about our dinner tonight, and he's gotten into a bit of a habit of letting himself in."

"Well, join us, Mr. Kent." The man said magnanimously, waving him over, "Any friend of Lex's is welcome."

"Oh... um... thank you, but I just stopped by to talk to Lex." Clark replied, blushing brightly as he noted that all eyes in the room were now on him, "I'll come back some other time. Sorry for the interruption." Clark said quickly, backing towards the door.

"Oh go on, Lex." The somewhat plump woman on the other side of Lex said, waving him on, "We've got this wonderful pie to keep us busy. We probably won't even notice you're gone!" She said with a little friendly snort of laughter.

"Indeed." The tall man agreed, "One should always make time for his friends."

Lex glanced at the others to make sure no one had any objections, then smiled and bowed his head, "Thank you. I will be back before you finish your pie." He assured them before walking briskly over towards Clark.

Clark thought he'd die of embarrassment. He turned and followed Lex as he walked past him. Lex walked in silence until they were in his office. He flicked on the lights and closed the door behind them, then turned and gazed at him silently, just waiting for Clark to speak.

"I am _so sorry!_ I had no idea you had guests!" Clark said in chagrin.

"Calling ahead... or _knocking_ might have been good." Lex noted.

"I know. I'm sorry. I was just afraid you wouldn't see me if you knew I was coming." His eyes dropped to Lex's left sleeve, trying to spot the bandage Chloe had seen. Shouldn't he have it in a cast? "Are you alright?" He asked softly.

"I'm just fine, Clark. It was just a few bruises. They're all but gone already. By tomorrow you probably won't even be able to tell anything happened.

"You can't be fine." Clark insisted, "I cracked your ribs. I broke your wrist!"

"My bones are just fine, Clark. Nothing is broken. Linda just has a tendency to overreact."

Clark reached out and took Lex's left hand. Lex just let him. Clark pushed back the sleeve, but the wrist wasn't wrapped anymore... it had nothing except a bit of the slight yellow tinge of a fading bruise. He switched to x-ray vision, but the wrist bones were somehow whole once more. He shifted his gaze up, but his ribs were likewise solid and unbroken. He looked back at the wrist, looking closer at one of the bones he knew he'd seen broken. There was a slightly less dense line along it... obviously newly mended bone... but how the Hell could it have mended so quickly? It normally took weeks for even light breaks to mend, didn't it? "But... but you were hurt! You couldn't even stay conscious and just moving caused you pain!"

"It's called _exhaustion_, Clark. Most people would have a hard time retaining consciousness after a good five hours of rather vigorous activity. You just happen to be a _teenager_ who obviously has a great deal more stamina than I do. As for my being in pain, I admittedly had to have my chiropractor over for an adjustment, but that's not that unusual, all things considered. As you can see, the bruising is almost gone as well. I bruise easily, but they fade fast. Believe me, that was far from the worst I've gotten in the bedroom. If you didn't notice, I have a rather high threshold for pain, and I tend to like it kind of rough. Well, when I'm with _men_ anyway." Lex said as he pulled the hand out of Clark's grasp. "Now I'd appreciate it if you'd just say whatever it is you came to say, Clark. I really don't have time for drawn out apologies right now."

Clark couldn't meet his gaze. He was greatly relieved (and puzzled) by the fact that Lex did, indeed, appear to be fine... but that still didn't make this much easier. He wandered over to the desk, then turned back and leaned against it, folding his arms across his chest nervously. "I... well, I didn't exactly have a speech planned out or anything. I just wanted to talk to you about what happened." He said.

"It's alright." Lex said evenly, "Your father explained things. Didn't he give you my message?"

Clark let out a frustrated sigh. "My father doesn't even know what happened! He 'explained things' without having a clue what he was talking about! He tends to do that sometimes if you hadn't noticed."

Lex folded his arms over his chest as well, slowly walking over to Clark. He came to a stop less than a pace away from him. "Alright." He said evenly, "Then explain it to me."

"I... I'm not sure where to begin..." Clark said, his confidence in the wisdom of coming here faltering and fading a bit more with every passing moment.

Lex gave a little nod. "Ok." He said, "Then why don't you start by explaining to me what red meteor rock does to you?"

Clark's eyes grew round. "Red meteor rock?" He asked in shock. His dad never would have told Lex about that!

"Your father came here, obviously having no clue what was going on. He saw that bracelet, rubbed his finger over the chip of red meteor rock inlayed in it and suddenly he knew _exactly_ what happened. Or at least he thought he did. He said you had an allergic reaction, the same as when you wanted me to run off with you to Metropolis... which just so happened to be at about the precise time that you got your Smallville High class ring. A ring that your good friend Miss Sullivan reported contained red meteor rock instead of rubies. I'm not an idiot, Clark. I _can_ manage to put two and two together."

Clark dropped his eyes.

"Why are you and your father so afraid of me finding out what you're 'allergic' to?" Lex asked, giving him a penetrating stare.

Clark sighed. "It's not _you_ we're afraid will find out. It's _anyone_. The radiation that rock gives off has such a profound effect on me... it makes me dangerous. I lose all inhibitions and conscience. Only one person outside of my family has ever found out about it, and he used that knowledge against me once already. He was a bit out of it himself at the time..."

"So why does Pete stabbing you in the back mean you can't trust _me?"_

"I never said it was Pete!" Clark said quickly.

Lex rolled his eyes. "The only other time I've ever heard of you having such a radical personality change was when Pete and Chloe were affected by the parasites from the cave. You didn't have a parasite, yet you were acting much the same as they were for a time. Unless of course the reports of you making out quite passionately with Chloe in the middle of the Talon were mistaken. They were both 'a bit out of it' at the time, but you referred to the one who used it against you as male, therefore that would leave Pete. Simple deductive reasoning, Clark. Why can't you just trust me? I'm not Pete."

"I don't blame Pete! He was a out of his head at the time. He never would have done that otherwise. My point is, that incident proved that letting _anyone_ know, even if I trust them completely, is a risk I can't afford to take. You have no idea how dangerous I am when I lose control! I could have _killed_ someone!"

"You were affected by it Sunday." Lex pointed out. "You never got violent."

"That was only a tiny piece. It didn't have full affect. Even still, it might not have gone as well if you'd have put up any real struggle." Clark said, shame coloring his cheeks.

Lex stared at him for a long moment, gazing deeply into his eyes. "You would _never_ have raped me, Clark." Lex said evenly, "I don't care what you were under the influence of, that is simply not in you."

"I wish I could believe that." Clark replied softly.

The silence drew out for a minute before Lex broke it.

"What does pink do to you?" Lex asked evenly.

Clark looked up at him in surprise.

"Red affects you," Lex said, watching his face closely, "And I've long suspected green does as well, though that seems to be some kind of physical pain reaction." He watched Clark's eyes for a moment, "I'm close on that one, I see. That makes me very curious about your interest in that necklace I bought you... but that's not my concern at the moment. That bracelet only had a speck of red... but it had a rather large piece of a pink meteor crystal in it. Be honest with me for once, Clark. Tell me what _pink_ does."

Clark fixed his eyes on the floor. "That was the first time I'd ever encountered that kind." He said softly. "I got a crystal of it the other day, and I tried to use it to work out what it does to me... but I'm not actually a hundred percent sure I understand _exactly_ what it does."

"So the final results aren't in yet... I'll settle for the preliminary findings." Lex said evenly.

"Well..." Clark said, trying to figure out how to phrase it, "You know how you usually have these kind of blinders on that let you notice the girls... but not really the guys? Oh... um... maybe you don't..." Clark said, blushing ever brighter, "I just... I mean how your brain focuses on what you're attracted to, and just kind of glazes over what you aren't. I've always liked girls... and when I see an attractive girl I notice them, but there could be the most gorgeous guy in the world standing in front of me and I wouldn't even give him a second glance..."

"I am well aware of the concept of sexual preference, Clark." Lex said in a slightly exasperated tone, "Get on to the effects." He said, though from his tone he'd probably already had a pretty good idea.

"Well... the pink kind of takes away the blinders. It makes me forget about gender and the fact that I'm only supposed to be attracted to girls." Clark said, feeling rather mortified by the admission.

"So... pink makes you gay." Lex summarized.

"No! I still like girls! I just... I like guys, too..." He said, finishing rather softly.

Lex nodded, "So by putting on that bracelet you suddenly became bisexual and uninhibited... and I just happened to be the one around when you got 'in the mood'."

"No!" Clark replied immediately. "It wasn't just some random fling! I care about you! More than you'll ever know! If you were a girl I would have wanted you from the start! All that bracelet did was let me see past your gender and realize that... and make me uninhibited enough to do something about it."

"Yes..." Lex said, his face still impassive. "But, I'm _not_ a girl, now am I? So we should just forget it ever happened."

"No, you're not a girl. I know that. But that doesn't mean we need to try to forget about it. _You_ weren't affected by it... but you let me make love to you. You _wanted_ it. Don't try to tell me you didn't!"

Lex's eyes flicked away, fixing to the side of Clark. "We didn't _'make love'_, Clark. We had _sex_." He said evenly, "You're an attractive boy with a big dick, and I'll admit I enjoyed what you did with it. That doesn't require an emotional commitment. I'm quite used to meaningless sex by now. Don't worry about it hurting me that you don't want me anymore. Like I said, I'll be just fine."

"I never said I didn't want you anymore!"

Lex sighed in exasperation, then suddenly moved forward and seized the hair on the back of Clark's head. Before Clark knew what was happening, he found Lex's lips on his. He quickly shook off his surprise and kissed him back, careful not to hurt him. Why hadn't he found where his mother had put that necklace before he came here? He was sorely missing it right about now!

After a moment Lex broke the kiss and moved his head back. He stared at Clark for a moment, then released his hair and went around his desk without a word. He pulled open a drawer, then closed it and came back around the desk, resuming his position before Clark.

Clark looked down as he felt the cool of the silver bracelet being slipped onto his wrist. He quickly shut his eyes as a little shudder went through him, the power of the meteor rocks racing through his body.

"Open your eyes." Lex commanded.

Clark opened his eyes, gazing longingly at Lex as the man's proximity fully registered. He could smell the heady cologne that clung to Lex, feel the slight hint of his body heat he was so close.

Lex gazed intently at him. Clark's pupils had doubled in size, his skin had gotten flush and his breathing was increasing as well.

Clark's gaze dropped from those amazing eyes to Lex's lips. Clark shifted forward, claiming them. His arms wrapped around Lex, pulling him up against him roughly. God how he wanted him! Wild fantasies danced through his head of bending Lex over the desk and taking him fast and hard... or laying him out on that pool table and taking him nice and slow. Or maybe he'd just take him up to Lex's bedroom and see if his bed would stand up to a whole night of the rough fucking Lex claimed to enjoy. There was some worry in his mind even now of hurting Lex... but he'd been dreaming of getting back inside him since Sunday... Lex seemed to heal up pretty fast... and if it started getting too out of hand he could always zip home and find that necklace so there shouldn't be much danger of permanent damage...

He reached down, rubbing Lex through his tailored pants. He felt Lex's hand slip down his arm... then he felt the bracelet pulled off of his wrist.

As soon as he lost contact with the evil little red stone, his kisses slowed, then he pulled away entirely, horrified by how close he'd come to almost certainly doing serious damage to Lex. How could he have even _thought_ about having sex with him at full strength? It was a miracle he hadn't hurt Chloe. If he'd put his hands on her it would have gone very differently, of that he was certain... and he knew for a fact that he'd never be able to keep his hands off Lex! Just because Lex could probably heal from it didn't make hurting him ok!

"That's what I thought." Lex said softly, stroking his hand down Clark's cheek one last time before pulling away from him. "Go home, Clark."

"Wait!" Clark said quickly. "That doesn't mean I don't _want_ you! I'm just afraid of _hurting_ you! The bracelet just makes me kind of forget about that part."

"You're my _friend_, Clark, and one I value a great deal. I would much rather keep you as my friend than have an imaginary relationship with this damn _bracelet!"_ He said, tossing the bracelet in the waste basket. "So please, stop trying to protect me from some emotional pain that you apparently imagine this is causing me. I'm _fine_. Just go home. I have guests to attend to."

"Lex!" Clark called after him, but the man didn't pause as he left the room. Clark just stared after him, not sure what he could possibly say or do to make Lex understand. Lex didn't know about his strength or other powers. He obviously had no clue what kind of a danger Clark could pose to him, so he didn't understand Clark's caution. He obviously thought Clark's reluctance was because he had no real desire for him, that Clark was _pretending_ to want him just because he thought that's what Lex wanted. How could Clark explain it to him without revealing everything about himself? Did he dare do that?

He followed hesitantly after Lex, hoping to catch him before he got back to the dinning room. He wasn't sure what he could possibly say at this point, but it didn't matter. Lex was already crossing the dining room. Clark stopped just out of view, leaning back against the wall, not sure what he could do. He didn't want to leave it like this... but he certainly didn't want to interrupt Lex's dinner again. Those people looked important!

"Forgive me for the interruption." Lex said as he rejoined the group. "Just a minor crisis."

"Nothing too bad, I hope?" The tall man asked with mild concern.

Lex just smiled and shook his head. "He's just a little upset about a brief romantic situation that just ended. You know how the love lives of teenagers are these days."

"Ahhh..." The man said understandingly. "I do hope he'll be alright."

"I'm sure he'll be fine. At his age, today's emotional catastrophe is often forgotten by next week." Lex replied reassuringly. "Sometimes they just have to have someone assure them that they'll survive."

The man nodded, "I do hope so. He looks to be a good lad."

"Oh, he is." Lex agreed without hesitation, "He even saved my life. That's how we first met as a matter of fact. Perhaps you've heard about that car accident I had on the bridge shortly after I first arrived in Smallville. Clark is the one who jumped into the water and pulled me out of my car. My heart had stopped. He breathed life back into me. That's not the kind of thing you forget. It wasn't just a fluke, either. He's risked his life to protect me on more than one occasion since, as well. In fact, just this last Sunday he stopped an inebriated man from smashing a bottle over my head. He got a pretty nasty cut in the process, too. He never seems to think about himself. He'd do just about anything to keep his friends from being hurt in any way, even if he has to sacrifice his own happiness and well being to do it. That's just who he is. He's the purest soul I've ever met... and the best friend I've ever had."

"He sounds like an amazing young man." The man said, clapping Lex on the shoulder. "They say a man is judged by the company he keeps. That's one friend I would hold onto if I were you."

"I intend to." Lex said earnestly.

Clark peeked around the corner. Lex was standing so that he was facing the doorway where Clark hid. Lex's eyes flicked over to him before going back to the man he was speaking to. It was obvious he'd known Clark was there, listening.

"Well," Lex said, obviously ready for a subject change, "If we can come to an agreement about those permits, I believe the new expansion to the plant will open up a number of new potential markets for us, not to mention create at least two hundred and fifty to possibly three hundred new jobs, and of course we'd be paying a considerable bit more in taxes, which would give you revenue to help fund those community improvement projects you've been trying to get done. I imagine that would make winning your next election a bit easier."

"That it would." the man replied with a chuckle, "My question to you would be if your _father_ is going to allow such a thing? I suspect one or two of my employees are reporting to him already. He seems rather set against letting you succeed for some reason."

Lex sighed, "Yes, well my relationship with my father is complicated. He doesn't want me to succeed unless I can outmaneuver him. I think it's his strange way of trying to challenge me and make sure I have to really _earn_ anything I accomplish. Still, I have identified his moles, so as long as we keep those people from finding out before the paperwork goes through there will be nothing he can do to stop it. I do have a plan to keep him distracted. He's been trying to get me to go away with him on a little 'family vacation' for a while now. A business associate of his has a daughter he's been trying to match me up with. I called him yesterday and agreed to the trip. I'm leaving tomorrow morning, so we'll be on a beach somewhere tropical by the time the paperwork gets filed. Who knows, maybe I'll even give the daughter a try. She's well connected and attractive, not to mention we used to be pretty good friends when we were children. Our families used to vacation together back before my mother died. If she's anything like she was back then she might actually be a good match for me. Maybe my father's right. Maybe it's time for me to settle down and get married."

The man chuckled. "Every man reaches this point sooner or later." He said, giving Lex another friendly pat on the shoulder, "Maybe having a woman in your life would do you good."

Lex glanced over, meeting Clark's eyes once more. "I think it would." He agreed.

"Did I ever tell you about my first wife?" The man asked.

Clark slipped away as the group drifted off towards the sitting room. God, why did his chest hurt so much? Lex was right. It probably _would_ be best if Lex found himself a woman and settled down. What kind of a future was there for _them_, after all? Lex was too powerful and influential to be in a relationship with a sixteen year old boy. Maybe it was best that he didn't understand how Clark felt about him now. He was still his friend, and that's more than he could have really hoped for after what he'd done. He should just be happy with that.

He stepped out into the darkness, then started slowly walking home, hugging himself as tears slipped silently down his cheeks.

- 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 -

A/N – hope you enjoyed it. BTW, I may have lied. I said it would only be six parts, but the last part is almost chapter length already and there are still several sections that need fleshed out, so I may have to split it, making the total come up to seven. Oh well. Seven is my lucky number anyway.

Well, once again I find myself imploring you to review if you liked this. Motivation is so hard to come by without positive reinforcement. Please help me cheer up my muse. I don't want to leave poor Clark out walking around in the dark crying forever!


	6. Absence

Chapter 6  
>Absence<p>

Thursday was just a nightmarish blur. Clark had gone to the castle in the morning, though he wasn't sure why since he'd decided to let Lex find someone else... but he still found himself standing before the imposing edifice... only Lex wasn't there. He'd left before dawn even broke. Clark didn't remember much after that. He'd gone to school, but that's about all he could recall of the day. If his father had been cold and distant at dinner, Clark hadn't even noticed. He didn't really eat much either. The food did nothing to fill the emptiness he felt inside, so what was the point? He slept in the loft again that night... though that was more to just avoid having to talk to his parents. At this point he really didn't care if he was under the same roof as his father. It just didn't matter anymore. He couldn't honestly even say he was still mad at him. In fact, he couldn't honestly say he felt much of anything anymore. He just felt numb. The only thing close to an emotion he felt was a dull ache in his chest that plagued him pretty much constantly.

Friday followed pretty much the same. He skipped breakfast and went out to the castle again. Lex was still gone, of course. Clark knew he would be... and yet he still checked. He wondered how long he'd be gone, but he didn't ask any of the staff that remained at the castle. He didn't really want to know. Not to mention he didn't want Lex to hear he'd come asking about him after a single day. How pathetic would that sound?

He slipped out of school at lunch time and went to the castle again. He wasn't sure why he went, since he knew Lex wouldn't be there, but he did. He even slipped in and made his way up to Lex's bedroom. It was stupid, pointless and irrational... and yet there he was.

The room was immaculately clean, as he was sure it always was. The bed was made up as perfect as any magazine cover. He stared at it, the dull ache within him growing stronger as memories flitted through his mind before he could stop them. He turned his head away, forcing the memories back down.

He went over into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. Then he looked up and spotted himself in the mirror. There was something wrong with his reflection. He stared, trying to put his finger on what exactly it was. After a moment he realized it was his eyes. They looked the same in a way... but at the same time there was something different about them. They looked duller than he remembered... and almost... hollow.

He turned his head away from the haunted visage before him, grabbing up the hand towel. "This is stupid." He muttered irritably to himself and he scrubbed the dampness from his face. He was about to put the towel back when he smelled something. He brought it back up to his face and smelled it, then clamped his eyes shut.

The towel smelled like Lex.

Though it was freshly laundered, Lex's musky scent had obviously become ingrained in the cloth over time.

His eyes sprang open as he heard the bedroom doorknob turning.

The maid paused as a breeze gusted past her as soon as she entered the room. She looked over, seeing the window was open, the drapes billowing in the sudden wind. She shook her head and hurried over, closing the window and latching it. That done, she went over, opening the dresser drawer and depositing the freshly laundered shirts neatly inside, then went over to the bathroom to deliver the towels. The light was on already. Mr. Luthor would have been upset if he came back from vacation and found his lights burnt out! She stacked the extra towels in the linen closet, then paused as she spotted the empty towel rack beside the sink. She just shook her head again and took out one of the hand towels, going over and hanging it in its place. She'd really have to check who was cleaning the master bedroom. Someone was really getting sloppy!

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

When Clark got to his Biology class, it was well past the bell, but there was a lot more noise than he expected when he came in the door. The teacher was obviously letting the students chat amongst themselves while she prepared the film they were supposed to watch that day.

"You're late, Mr. Kent." The teacher said without looking as she threaded a film through the ancient projector.

Clark paused. "Sorry." He muttered softly. He had no real excuse for his lateness. He could have used his super speed and made it back in plenty of time, but he'd just walked, so he was late.

She glanced over at him, then paused, gazing at him for a moment, her eyes growing a bit concerned. "Don't let it happen again." She said, turning back to the projector. "Get the lights since you're there already, then get to your seat."

He gave her a little nod, flicking the lights off, then taking his seat next to Pete.

Pete looked at him in surprise, then shifted closer, whispering, "Man! You lucked out! I've never seen Miss Reynolds let someone come into her class late without giving them detention!"

Clark just gave one of his shoulders a little half hearted shrug. He couldn't even muster relief at having somehow evaded getting detention. He took his notebook out of his backpack, careful not to let Pete see inside. How could he explain having a hand towel in his bag? It's not as if he'd meant to swipe it. He'd just kind of found it still in his hand once he'd gotten out of sight of the castle and slowed back down. He couldn't exactly slip back in and put it back. What if whoever that was who came in the door was still there? His presence in Lex's bedroom would be a little hard to explain.

He closed his eyes as a little waft of Lex's cologne teased his nose as he closed up the bag.

"You ok?" Pete asked with mild concern.

"Fine." Clark muttered automatically, pulling the pencil out from where he'd stuck it in the spiral of his notebook, then opening it to an empty page. Not that he really expected to take notes.

The film started up and Pete's attention was luckily drawn away from Clark. Clark just sat there, gazing absently at the flickering light playing images across the screen. It was something about animals and instincts. He wasn't sure the exact point of the movie, but didn't much care. His mind wasn't on the film... but it wasn't on much of anything else either.

Pete nudged him after a while, leaning closer. "Man, I'm glad we aren't like that."

"Like what?" Clark muttered, making himself focus on the screen to try to see what he was talking about. There were a couple of squirrels sporting around in a tree.

"Mating for life. Those poor squirrels are stuck with the first squirrel they have a thing for for the rest of their lives! Could you imagine? I mean what if you picked the wrong person? I'm sure glad humans aren't that way!"

The teacher gave a sharp little shushing sound and Pete quickly pretended to be avidly interested in the film once more.

Well, Clark had to agree there. The flaw in that statement only very slowly occurred to him.

Clark wasn't human.

Oh God! Did his kind mate for life? It suddenly dawned on him how very little he knew about his own species. What if the pain he was feeling was more than just him trying to rebound from a bad crush? What if it never went away? What if having sex with Lex had somehow bonded them for life? And Lex would go on with his life, oblivious to how Clark felt. He'd find himself some girl, and get married and...

A little pained sound escaped him and Pete looked over. Clark quickly turned his head away, realizing hot trails of tears were sliding down his cheeks.

"Hey, Clark... man, you ok?" Pete asked with growing concern.

Clark felt a sudden, desperate need to escape. He felt himself on the verge of breaking down entirely, and he just wanted to find someplace dark and private to hole up in. He was up out of his chair and out the door before Pete could even reach over.

Once out in the hall he hesitated, not sure where to go, but knowing he wanted to get there before Pete or the teacher followed him. He remembered the broom closet in the next hall over and hurried towards it, keeping to human speed, afraid he'd dash right through a wall in his near panicked state if he tried to go any faster. Just as he got to the branching hall that would lead him to the relative safety of the closet, he just about ran straight into the girl rounding the corner coming towards him.

Pain lanced through him. He jerked back instinctively, then lost control of his body, dropping to the ground like a rock. He lay where he fell, unable to even move, trying to comprehend the agony coursing through him.

"Clark!" Pete called, running up to him.

"What the Hell's wrong with him?" The girl asked, "He just kind of collapsed!"

"I don't know." Pete said, crouching down beside him.

She leaned down, looking at him.

Clark's eyes caught on the large pendant dangling from her neck. It gleamed a wicked green as it swayed before him.

Pete's eyes followed his gaze and comprehension dawned. "Listen, I got this." He said quickly, trying to figure out a polite way of telling her to get lost and take her big hunk of meteor rock with her.

She straightened up, but didn't leave. "Hey, I'm not seeing any hall passes. I can't just let you run around without a pass." She said, pointing importantly to the little tag on her shirt that proclaimed her to be an official hall monitor.

"He's obviously on his way to see the school nurse." Miss Reynolds said quickly as she closed the classroom door behind her. "I'll give them a pass. Run along."

The girl looked a bit disappointed she couldn't lord her authority over them, but just shrugged and walked off.

Clark's breathing eased once she was gone. He'd been having to fight to remain conscious towards the end there. He sat up a bit shakily, scrubbing the tears quickly from his face with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Can you stand, Mr. Kent?" She asked with concern.

Clark nodded, "I'm fine." He muttered, his voice tinged with embarrassment. He got to his feet with a little help from Pete, then stood, trying to appear as fine as he claimed to be, though the after effects of such a close brush with a meteor rock left him feeling a bit shaky.

"Wait here a moment." She said, before going back over into her classroom.

"Are you alright?" Pete asked quickly.

"Fine." Clark muttered again, leaning heavily against the wall, "She's gone. Could she possibly have found a _bigger_ pendant?" he asked ruefully, gazing warily down the hall the girl had gone down.

"I meant before that. What happened? Why'd you run out like that?"

Clark dropped his eyes and just shook his head.

"Did someone else have one of those pieces of jewelry like that?"

"No."

"Then what was it?" Pete persisted.

Clark let out a little irritable huff, "Listen, I don't know, ok? I just needed to get out of there. I don't always know what's going on with me. I didn't exactly come with an instruction manual! Believe me, I wish I did!"

Pete started to say something, but the teacher came back out and he quickly closed his mouth. She came over, handing Clark his book bag, then handing them each a hall pass.

"Mr. Ross, could you please see Mr. Kent to the nurse's office? He's obviously not feeling well."

Pete glanced at Clark, then nodded when Clark wasn't objecting. "Sure."

"Hurry back when you're done, Mr. Ross. You don't want to miss the whole film."

"Absolutely." Pete agreed with a smile.

Clark pushed off from where he'd been resting against the wall, shouldered his bag and started walking.

Pete paced him, watching covertly until the classroom door closed behind the teacher once more. He then glanced around to make sure they were alone in the hall before looking back over to Clark. "You really going to the nurse?"

"Guess so." Clark said, trying not to let his mind wander back to the thoughts that had driven him from the classroom in the first place. That dose of intense pain had worked amazingly well to push the thoughts to the back of his mind, but he could still feel them there, eager to slip forward once more to torture him. "Not like I have much of a choice. She probably called down and told her I was coming."

"Aren't you worried about her finding something out...?" He asked leadingly.

Clark let out a little, vaguely amused huff of air. "School nurses don't worry me. They can't do anything invasive like stick kids with needles or anything like that. I'm perfectly normal until you start checking out my DNA or trying to poke me with sharp instruments."

"Oh... right." Pete said. He walked in silence for a minute, then couldn't help but ask, "What's been up with you this week?"

"What do you mean?" Clark asked evasively.

"You've been all distant and moody... then today you suddenly freak out for no reason and run out of class..." He said leadingly.

"Are you suggesting I have some alien form of PMS?" Clark quipped.

Pete let out a little laugh, then shook his head, his attitude sobering once again. "No, I just... man, please tell me you didn't write that."

"Write what?" Clark asked, keeping his eyes forward.

"That article. The alien one."

"Just because I'm an alien doesn't automatically make everyone who anonymously claims to be an alien me."

"Well if you didn't write that, how do you even know what I'm talking about? You haven't been talking to anyone and I know I haven't seen you so much as glance at a copy of the paper."

"I was there when Chloe was looking at the article."

"Ya, but you didn't stick around long enough to read it!" Pete countered.

"When she was checking for length she looked at both pages while I was watching. I'm the ultimate speed reader, Pete. I could read the Lord of the Rings in like three minutes, and that's only if I'm taking care not to damage the books. The alien reference was what they call a _metaphor_. It's not supposed to be taken literally." He looked over at Pete, giving him a wane smile, "And, for the record, I most definitely do _not_ have the hots for you, and if you try to kiss me, I'll put you through a brick wall. That good enough for you?"

Pete let out a little amused breath. He slowed and came to a stop, "Well, there's the nurses office. I should probably head back. You gonna be ok?"

"Unless the nurse picked up one of those evil green trinkets at the market too, I'll be fine." Clark assured him.

"Right." Pete said, "Listen, Chloe's putting us all to work at the Talon after school, so if you're up to it, come on by and help out."

Clark just nodded vaguely, then pushed the door open to the nurse's office.

"Mr. Kent! I'm glad you made it!" The nurse said as she spotted him. She hurried over, putting her hand on his forehead. "You do seem a bit warm. Have a seat. Or you can lay down if you like." She said, indicating the bed-like bit of furniture. "Miss Reynolds said you fainted in the hallway. Are you feeling any better?"

Clark's cheeks reddened a bit as he sat down. "I didn't faint. I just... kind of fell down. I'm fine."

She gave him a humoring smile as she came back with her electronic thermometer. "Of course." She said, obviously thinking he was just trying to be macho. She stuck the little cone shaped probe in his ear and waited for it to beep, then looked at it. "Well, you do have a bit of a temperature, but it's not too bad. Have you been feeling sick?" She asked as she held her finger to the pulse point on his neck, watching her wristwatch.

"No. Not really."

"What have you eaten today?" She asked as she dropped her hand, gazing at him expectantly.

Clark opened his mouth, but then paused. "Actually... I don't think I've eaten anything today." He admitted, "I was running late so I missed breakfast, and I kind of skipped lunch."

She gave him a little smile. "Growing boys shouldn't be skipping meals, let alone two in a row! You probably just have low blood sugar."

He nodded his head. That was the simplest explanation.

"What's your next class?"

"Gym." Clark said, realizing that with dread. It wasn't that he was afraid of any of the physically taxing aspects of the class since he could do anything they asked of him with ease... but if Miss Reynolds had told the nurse he fainted and people in the class overheard, he was sure to deal with a whole lot of ribbing in the locker room!

She gave him a little commiserating smile, obviously thinking he was worried it would be strenuous. "I'll tell you what... your temperature does qualify as a low grade fever. Why don't I send you home? It's Friday, and nearly the end of school anyway."

He looked up in surprise, then flashed her a little smile. Avoiding dealing with people and being able to leave without getting in trouble? "That'd be great."

"Ok. I'll inform the office. You can use the phone down the hall to call your parents to pick you up if you don't have a cell. Just dial nine to get an outside line." She said, scribbling out a hall pass and handing it to him, along with a handful of the little swirled mint candies wrapped in cellophane she kept on her desk.

"Thanks." He said as he accepted the pass.

"Just promise me you'll get something real to eat!" She said with a smile.

"Yes ma'am." He replied with a little nod.

He shoved the mints in his pocket, shouldered his backpack and left her office. He walked down the hall, but didn't bother with the phone. He certainly didn't want to call his parents! For that matter, he couldn't really go home either. He didn't want to risk hiding anywhere on the farm for fear of his parents stumbling across him and asking questions. He wandered out of the school, trying to decide where to go to kill time until school let out.

He suddenly realized he could go to the Talon. He usually only thought of it being open when Lana was out of school, but it was open during school hours as well, she just had non-school aged workers for those hours. Well, he could go there and just leave when school let out. Maybe he'd even get a piece of pie. He didn't really feel hungry, even now... but maybe it'd make his body feel a bit better.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

"Clark. Hey, Clark." A voice called softly as fingers stroked his cheek.

Clark blinked his eyes open. "Lana?" He asked groggily, looking around. He was nestled down in one of the big, comfortable chairs in the Talon, obviously having fallen asleep. The Talon was already full of his classmates, and it was pretty obvious they hadn't just arrived.

"Sorry to wake you, but I was getting worried. They said you fainted in the hallway and left early. You feeling ok?" Lana asked with obvious concern.

"Ya. Fine." Clark muttered, straightening up in his seat, "And I didn't faint. I just haven't been sleeping well."

"You aren't getting sick again, are you?" She asked worriedly.

He quickly shook his head.

"Well, good. You really scared me last time." She said, the worry still evident on her face. She glanced down at his half eaten piece of pie sitting on the arm of his chair. "Something wrong with the pie?"

"No." He replied immediately. "Just not in the mood for pie." He realized he was still holding his empty coffee mug and placed it on the pie plate.

She looked at him with trepidation, "I've got to get that table's order... how about I bring you some herbal tea when I'm done?"

"Sure." He said, more to get rid of her than wanting the tea.

She smiled and took the plate and mug, putting them on the tray of one of the passing waitresses who had obviously been busing tables, then hurried off.

"Clark! You're awake!" Chloe said from a nearby table. She sprang up and came over, perching herself on the arm of his chair, "Hey. How've you been?" She asked him gently.

"Fine." He muttered, avoiding eye contact and hoping she'd go away. He knew she meant well, but he'd prefer it if people would just stop worrying about him and leave him alone. She looked like she might be about to probe further, so he quickly redirected, "What are you guys up to?" He asked, looking back over to the table she'd come from. It was one of the largest tables the Talon had, and Pete and three other students who often helped out with the Torch were gathered around it, looking very busy with paper, scissors and some kind of device he couldn't quite see around the boy who was working it. Well, if he used his x-ray vision he'd be able to see it... but he just didn't really care enough to bother.

Chloe broke into a brilliant smile and shifted forward, showing him the large button on her blouse, "We're making these!" She said proudly.

He looked at it, furrowing his brow. It was a hand drawn picture of what looked like a teenaged alien in jeans and a t-shirt standing in what looked like a school hallway while human teens passed by. Its overly large eyes had big blue irises that looked very sad. As he shifted closer for a better look he could see that one of the books it was carrying looked to be a copy of "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus". There were also words printed below along the bottom curve of the pin in neat handwriting that said "You're not alone."

"Umm, what's that about?" He asked, puzzled.

Her eyes went round, "You haven't seen these around? The paper went out this morning, and I sold all fifty of the buttons I made up last night by the time lunch rolled around! I took orders the rest of the day and people have been texting me orders as well. We've got orders for another seventy six already! We've even had people outside the school asking for them! The Torch online got more hits before I left school today than we usually get in a _month!_ Apparently some of the students talked to relatives and such on their cell phones between classes. I've even gotten over twenty requests for t-shirts and a couple more for jackets and sweatshirts. I'm talking to a local silk screening shop about pricing. Everybody's going crazy about it!"

"About a cartoon?" He asked dubiously. Sure it was kind of cute in a big eyed puppy kind of way, but it hardly seemed to warrant such interest.

She stared at him with a stunned expression for a minute. "Haven't you read the Torch today?" She asked.

"I... um... haven't gotten around to it." He admitted.

She looked around, then quickly sprang up and went over, snatching up a spare copy of the paper, then brought it over and held it out in front of him. There was the little cartoon of the alien on the top of the front page (square instead of round and minus the writing at the bottom of it), with the word "Alienation" below it in bold print, followed by the article he'd written.

_"This_ is what everyone's going wild over. This is, _bar none_, the most popular article the Torch has run since I've been in charge of it. Every copy of the Torch was gone before second period started! We actually did a _second printing!_ Luckily the printer was still set up for it, so they had another batch to us by lunch, and all of those were nearly gone by the time I left! We have _never_ had to do a second printing before!" She said excitedly.

"Wow... that's... um... amazing..." He said, looking a bit stunned, "Congratulations, I guess."

She folded the paper up and handed it to him, smiling down at him. "Now _that_ was a great article. It had heart and honesty, and it obviously really spoke to a lot of people. That guy... he really has potential as a journalist."

"I'll take your word for it." He said, not meeting her eyes, pretending to read the article. The way she was looking at him gave him the itching suspicion she was on to him.

"Well, I think it's a _bullshit_ story!" Jenkins growled as he walking up, his whole carriage one of barely contained anger.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "So you're the local literary critic now?" She asked sarcastically.

"I want to know who wrote that damn thing!" He hissed furiously.

"It was _anonymous_. That means the author didn't give his name. If he had, his name would be on it." She said as if explaining to a small child.

"Ya, well a bunch of people are saying _I_ was the one who wrote it just because I wouldn't have to worry about catching flak for it since I'm getting shipped off to Military school!"

She let out a little snort of laughter. "Well don't worry. If they ask me, I will assure them it wasn't you. You're barely literate, let alone anywhere near loquacious enough to have written that!"

"I'm not what?" He asked, furrowing his brow.

"I rest my case." She replied.

He may not know exactly what she was saying, but it was obvious even to him that she was making fun of him... and that just about every person in the entire place was now watching them, most of them trying to hide their snickers at Chloe's words. His eyes flashed with anger and he darted his hand out to grab her, but Clark's hand caught his wrist before he could get a hold of her.

"Leave her alone, Jenkins!" Clark growled warningly, squeezing his wrist just short of causing damage.

Jenkins let out a hiss of pain and pulled his arm back. Clark let him go, but watched to make sure he didn't make any other moves towards Chloe. The boy glared down at Clark, shaking his hand to return circulation to it. "Is she protecting _you_, Kent? Are you the fairy that wrote that article?" He growled hatefully, making sure it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I'm not a fairy, and I can fight my battles just fine on my own. Keep it up and I'll demonstrate." Clark growled, shifting forward to rise. He normally avoided confrontation, but right now the idea of beating on this loud mouthed idiot sounded pretty good.

"Whoa!" Chloe said, quickly putting her hands on Clark's chest to keep him from rising. When she was sure he'd stopped, she looked back over at Jenkins. "Listen, I know you two have gym class together, and I have no doubt you've seen him in the shower, so you probably know he's easily twice the man you'll ever be under those clothes... but if you're looking for a date, I hate to break your heart, but you're out of luck. Clark's already spoken for."

Clark barely hid his surprise as Chloe dropped herself down in his lap and planted a kiss right on his lips. He kissed back without even thinking about it. Clark vaguely heard the other patrons of the Talon laughing at Jenkins and cheering Clark and Chloe on, but he wasn't really paying attention anymore. She pressed him back in the chair, her fingers twining in his hair. Chloe's tongue slipped into his mouth and his irritation with Jenkins evaporated. He might not have any real personal desire for Chloe... but it felt so nice just feeling the desire that seemed to radiate out from her. It stirred memories of Lex's lips... that wonderful, hot tongue... the way Lex liked to twine his fingers in Clark's hair when they kissed, just like she was doing. It made him ache, but at the same time he didn't want it to stop. He just let go and lost himself in her.

There was a pronounced clearing of a throat. Clark reluctantly broke the kiss and looked up a bit dazedly, panting a bit to regain his breath. Jenkins had left, and the others had even apparently lost interest in the spectacle by that point... except for one, that is. Lana was standing there, glaring at them coldly, his tea on a little tray in front of her. He took a deep breath and sighed it out, then got up, carefully setting Chloe on her feet before releasing her.

"I'm not dealing with this right now." He said, pulling a couple of dollars out of his pocket for the tea and dropping them on the tray.

Lana's jaw dropped in indignation as he grabbed up his backpack and just walked out without another word.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

"Clark? You up there?" Chloe's voice called out.

Clark sighed. He could get up and super speed out of the loft window, but she'd track him down sooner or later. "Ya." he called back, his voice tired and emotionless.

She tromped up the stairs, then came over and dropped down onto the couch beside him. "Hey there." She said gently, stroking her hand down his arm. "Don't worry. I talked to Lana."

He glanced over at her, momentarily wondering what she was talking about before recalling how he'd left things between them. "Oh. Right. Thanks, I guess."

"I... I didn't tell her it was you though. I figured you'd tell her yourself if you wanted her to know." She added.

"Didn't tell her it was me...?" He asked, looking at her, completely baffled.

"That wrote that article."

His eyes widened, but she quickly put her hand over his mouth before he could deny it.

"It's ok, Clark. I know it was you, but I'm never going to tell anyone." She assured him before taking her hand back away.

"What makes you think it was me?" He asked guardedly.

She gave him a little smile, then shifted up a bit, "Well, let's see... you were right there, I was..." She shifted over suddenly, straddling his lap, "Right about here..." She said, then shifted forward, whispering in his ear, "And you called me _Lex_."

His eyes went wide, his cheeks instantly blazing crimson. Had he really done that? He didn't remember it... but he _had_ been thinking about Lex at the time, and he knew from her expression that Chloe wasn't just fishing. She _knew_.

She smiled at him, then sagged against him, resting her head on his shoulder and holding him comfortingly. "It's ok. Your secret's safe with me." She whispered.

He closed his eyes, knowing he could never find a way to deny that... and yet he didn't even want to. He slid his arms around her and held her tight, having to be careful not to harm her. He needed this so desperately right now... someone to just hold him and tell him it was alright.

"This is why I love you, Chloe." He whispered against her.

She just smiled and closed her eyes, hugging him tighter.

- 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 –

Lex sighed as he looked out over the water. The sunset was breathtaking, the waves crashing on the pristine beach like a scene straight off a postcard. The sand beneath his feet was warm and soft, bringing back childhood memories... from back before his life became a tangled mess... back when he was a happy child. Well, as happy as you could be with a father like Lionel at any rate. What he'd give to be back then. When things had made sense and he'd known where his life was going. Or thought he did, anyway. He was going to grow up and find himself a pretty wife and take over his dad's business and be rich, powerful and respected, just like his father. Of course back then he hadn't yet realized how utterly despised his father was by pretty much everyone.

If he tried really hard, he could still remember when his father had looked at him as his son... his heir... the boy who would become as powerful and ruthless as he was some day and make him proud. Back before the meteor shower had made Lex into a 'freak'. His father had never really looked at him the same after that. He could almost see it in his father's eyes... that was when he'd written Lex off as his successor. That's when he'd started trying for another son, despite his wife's protests. After Julian had died and Lex's mother went a bit mad, Lionel had obviously realized he had to deal with the son he already had, no matter how defective. He eventually started grooming Lex for the position once more, but Lex could always tell he didn't think Lex was worthy of it. No matter how hard Lex tried, the 'freak' would never really earn his father's respect... let alone his love.

Never had that been clearer than when Lex had last dabbled with boys. He could still remember the fury and disgust in his father's eyes after he'd burst into Lex's dorm room and found him in bed with his roommate, Brian. Lex should have known it would get out with those paparazzi bastards everywhere, but he'd really thought he'd been careful! Then again, they'd been together for nearly a month, and someone was bound to find out sooner or later. He'd rarely seen fury so raw on his father's face. Usually the man was so adept at hiding his anger, choosing to retain his apparent calm and use subtle forms of retaliation over open anger and the more crass forms of common violence. He'd always taught Lex that showing his emotions was a weakness... but he didn't try to mask his reaction to that in the slightest. When Lex had tried to defend his right to be with whomever he pleased, his father had struck him. He'd backhanded him across the face so hard it'd sent him sprawling and left him with a bruise so bad it'd taken days to heal. He still remembered the cold rage in his father's eyes as he explained in that poisonous hiss exactly what he'd do to Lex if he ever found out he was disgracing the family name like that again.

Brian disappeared after that. Every last shred of evidence that he'd ever even been there was gone within an hour. One of those damn paparazzi had managed to get a shot of Lex with the bruise on his face and they'd made up wild stories about a violent lover's quarrel ending in him getting dumped. He never even bothered attempting to correct them. It never would have worked anyway... besides, the lie was better than the truth. Brian had never contacted Lex again. Lex hadn't tried to find him. He'd been too afraid of finding out out what had happened to the poor, sweet boy who's only crime was to fall for a Luthor.

Lex had been young back then... only eighteen, just starting college. It could be chalked up to normal teenage experimentation. That's how he'd always explained it. Sure, he'd had one nights stands here and there after that before coming to Smallville, usually when he was particularly furious with his father, but after he realized he was just using the men to fulfil his own selfish need for silent rebellion he'd given that up too. He had to grow up sometime. There would be no excusing such things away at his current age. He was twenty two. He was supposed to be over that kind of thing. Sure clubbing and such would be expected... but not playing with boys... especially one six years younger than him. Especially drugging one to get him into bed with him! Not that he'd _meant_ to, or had any idea that bracelet could ever do anything like that, but still...

He couldn't help but remember what that old Indian woman had told him. She'd said that bracelet was what his heart desired. Was he really so depraved that his heart wanted to molest an innocent boy? One who trusted him and cared about him? Maybe his father had tainted him even more than he'd realized... instilling in him his father's belief that anything was his for the taking and he had every right to take it, no matter the cost to anyone else.

God, he'd rather die than be like that evil old man!

He gazed at the way the last rays of light glistened off the water. He couldn't help but remember the accident that had brought him and Clark together. The water had rushed in and filled his lungs before he'd even known what was happening. It was frightening at first... but in the end...

He'd managed to somehow evade death so many times already in his life... but he wouldn't have escaped that. The water had taken him... Clark just took him back. But Clark wasn't here.

Was there an undertow hiding beneath that innocent looking water? If he waded out there into the ocean, would it pull him under? Would the ocean simply swallow him whole and claim him as the river had tried? It wouldn't care who he was, who his father was. Would he just be gone with no trace or explanation... like Brian?

It was undeniably tempting.

Arms slipped around his waist and he felt her body press up against his back, her chin coming to rest on his shoulder. "What are you doing out here all alone, Alexander?" She asked softly.

"Just taking in the view." Lex replied evenly.

She gave a little mirthful snort, "You're not the sunset watching type. Try again."

"Just thinking." He muttered, then took a breath and sighed it out, "Toying with the idea of one last dip."

"Well, it's a bit late to be going back in the water... but it _may_ be best to stay out here for a bit longer. Your father just found out why you agreed to this trip. He's pretty pissed." She said, obviously amused.

"About time! The papers were finalized two days ago! They're probably hiring the construction crew already! He's obviously slipping in his old age." Lex said with a grim smile.

She just stood there, holding him as they watched the sun sink the last little bit, disappearing into the ocean. "You aren't going to run off now, are you?" She asked softly.

He took a deep breath and sighed it out. Returning to Smallville... he could feel his heart pulling him back there, even now... but at the same time the thought of returning there almost scared him. How was he supposed to act around Clark now? No matter how hard he wanted to pretend, he had told Clark the truth... something like that can never really be taken back. It made him ache inside to know things would never be the same between them. The pain of loss was still too raw in his chest. Maybe if he had a bit more time... Then again, he wasn't sure this pain would ever go away. "I don't know." He replied, carefully keeping the sadness from his voice, "I thought about leaving as soon as the papers went through... but I think I could use a little more time here. It really is nice to be able to just let go and stop worrying... to get away from politics and my company and... _everything_ for a while. I think this is good for me. I think maybe being around you is good for me."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that." She said, slipping around and pressing up against the front of him. Her jet black tresses fell over her shoulders like an ebony waterfall, framing her lovely face as she gazed up at him with her large, luminescent blue eyes that still seemed to almost glow, despite the rapidly dwindling light. "I admit, I was a bit leery of seeing you again. There were some pretty wild tabloids floating around for a while there."

He flashed her a little smile, his cheeks tingeing slightly with embarrassment.

"I'm glad I came, though." She added, "Being around you again, it's... it's almost like when we were kids. We may have only been around each other for a week or so a year, but you were the best friend I've ever had. I was afraid seeing you now would ruin that memory... but it hasn't. Being around you is just... _comfortable."_

"I know what you mean." He said honestly, gently brushing a stray lock of hair out of her face, "I never even realized how much I missed you, Elise."

She smiled warmly, then reached up and ran her hand over his head, "I do miss your hair, though. I never said anything when we were kids, because I knew how sensitive you were about it... but I really do miss it. You had the most beautiful hair."

"Sorry. Getting rid of it wasn't exactly my idea. Then again... that color was alright on a boy, but I don't think bright copper waves of hair on a man would inspire much respect anyway." Lex mused.

"I'm sure there have been many powerful and well respected men with red hair! You know, in Norse mythology, Thor has red hair. He was always one of my favorites. I really doubt anyone ever dared make fun of him for it! Besides, the ladies like red hair. Not that you've needed any help in the attraction field from what I've read, but still. They say redheads are rather randy in bed. From what I've seen, I'd have to concur." She chuckled to herself as she watched her fingers stroking over his scalp. "I just realized... maybe _you're_ the reason I've always had such a weakness for redheads!"

He just chuckled softly.

She suddenly shivered, pressing a bit closer. "Man, it gets cold quick once the sun is gone!"

"The breeze off the ocean will do that." Lex said, rubbing her shoulders to help warm her up. She was only wearing a little bikini and a loose knit triangular bit of material wrapped around her waist that was more for modesty than any real protection against the cold. He was only wearing a pair of knee length black swimming trunks himself, but he was obviously more tolerant to cold than she was. He slid his arms around her, pulling her up close and holding her for a minute. It really was nice just holding her. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her arms around him for a bit. Something about her seemed to soothe him... to gently push down his pain and the stirring self destructive inclinations. "We should go in." He muttered at length.

She gazed back with trepidation towards the main door of the sprawling beach front mansion they were vacationing in. "I don't know... your father was really mad! I know! Let's slip in the side door. If we're quiet we can hide out in my room for a while until he has a chance to calm down."

"I don't think my father knows how to calm down." Lex said with a wane smile, "But it's worth a try."

They made their way over, taking a wide path behind some dunes to keep from being seen through the huge picture windows that led into the extravagant living room in which their fathers most often congregated in the evenings. They appeared to get in without notice, and had a bit of fun avoiding being seen by the couple of servants they ran across, then finally made it to her room.

She closed the door behind them, then they had to stifle their snickers. It was just like when they were kids! It was so refreshing just being with her! If only it could stay like that, pure and innocent... but he knew it wouldn't. He'd seen the impatience in her father's eyes when he was watching them earlier. He'd seen her sadness after her father cornered her and had a little 'talk' with her in the kitchen after lunch. She'd forced a smile when she saw him watching, but it hadn't reached her eyes.

Well, he might as well get this over with. "So, what shall we do now?" He asked, giving her the opening. He went over and sat on the bed, kicking off his sandals and putting his legs up on the bed, crossing them at the ankles and leaning back against the pillows casually.

She seemed frozen for a second as she watched him settle in, but then flashed him a smile. "Well, I have a confession to make. I pilfered a bottle from my father's liquor stash this afternoon." She said, going over to the dresser. She crouched down and reached underneath and pulled out a bottle of obviously very expensive liquor, then straightened up and grabbed two of the cut crystal goblets from the tray sitting on the dresser with a water pitcher.

She brought it over, handing him the bottle, but then seemed to feel awkward with the idea of climbing over him to find a seat, so she circled around to the other side of the large bed.

"Bas Armagnac, 1963. This is my favorite brandy." He said, examining the familiar bottle, "It's very expensive. Your father's probably been saving this for a special occasion. You sure you want to break into it?"

He looked over and saw that she'd hesitated, spotting a small blue bag on the bedside table. From the flash of irritation that crossed her face, he could tell she hadn't put it there herself... and could easily guess what it held.

"Oh, I'm very sure." She said, quickly putting on a smile and pretending there was nothing odd about the little bag being there. She crawled onto the bed as best she could while holding the glasses, then settled and held them out.

Lex shrugged and cracked it open. Since it was his father's favorite as well, he was pretty sure her father had brought it to celebrate in case they managed to force their children together. If anyone deserved it, it was them, not their fathers. He poured a generous amount into each goblet before setting the bottle on the stand on his side of the bed and claiming one of the goblets.

For her first drink she took a bit of a gulp, though it almost came back up. She managed to swallow it down, then coughed a couple of times, blushing. She obviously wasn't much of a drinker.

"You generally drink this slower. Try savoring it." He suggested, taking a drink from his own glass. He held the brandy in his mouth for a moment before letting it slide down his throat, warming him pleasantly. Oh yes, he definitely loved this one. He usually only allowed himself a couple of fingers of it now and then considering its rarity... but tonight he'd make an exception. He'd always wanted to see what it'd be like getting drunk off this alone. He'd certainly been tempted to try on several occasions... but one bottle wouldn't be enough to do it for him and while he had many vices, gluttony wasn't generally one of them.

He watched her take her next drink. She took a bit more than him, but dutifully took it slowly, apparently trying to savor it as suggested. She still gave a slight cough after swallowing it, but it seemed easier this time. He shifted down a bit more, enjoying the warmth radiating out from his stomach.

Though she'd seemed tense at first, she started loosening up as well. They started reminiscing about old times, and he kept refilling their goblets. It became apparent rather quickly that she was a bit of a lightweight. Within ten minutes she was smiling and giggling a bit giddily. Lex, on the other hand, remained irritatingly sober. Even in his teens it had taken an indecent amount of alcohol to get him drunk, and it only seemed to get harder with time. That was part of the reason he had tried drugs, to be honest. Alcohol couldn't get him more than tipsy by that point, even when he downed a whole bottle of vodka himself. He could polish off this whole bottle by himself and not feel much more than what he was already feeling. After three full goblets he felt warm and content, but nothing more than perhaps a little bit buzzed. And that might have just been from being around her, actually.

Once the bottle was getting pretty low, she seemed to realize she was way past her tolerance and she set her glass on the bedside stand. Lex had another glass, but then set his glass aside as well. There was still a bit left in the bottle, but while he doubted he'd even have a hint of a headache in the morning, she was sure to be completely miserable. It was best to leave her a bit to help her combat the coming hangover. Hair of the dog and all.

"Do you remember the first time you kissed me?" She asked suddenly, her voice lively, if a bit slurred.

He smiled over at her. "How could I forget? You were the first girl I ever kissed. I still remember that surprised look on your face. You asked me if that meant we were married."

She blushed, "I didn't!" She said in embarrassment.

"You did." He assured her, "I remember, because I had to ask my mother. I was so afraid I'd done something wrong. She laughed. It'd been a long time since I'd heard her laugh..." He said, his eyes glazing over a bit as he remembered it. It was probably one of the last times he'd heard that laugh.

Suddenly he found Elise straddling his lap. What was it lately with people doing that? He quickly shoved the memory of Clark straddling him like this from his mind.

"She thought we were cute together." She said softly.

He just nodded mutely.

She looked like she was searching for something more to say, something clever that would make him laugh or perhaps something sexy to entice him... but the alcohol was obviously stealing away her eloquence. After a moment she gave up and just leaned forward, kissing him.

He could have played hard to get and made her work for it, but she seemed so nervous he didn't have the heart to tease her. He'd dealt with far more than his fair share of gold diggers in his past, so her lack of expertise in the field was rather endearing, actually. The feel of her trembling when he pulled her close sealed it for him. She'd definitely do. They already cared for each other, and any woman who needed to get herself drunk just to pluck up the courage to seduce him wasn't likely to be playing mind games and manipulating him.

He reached over and turned off the light, then untied the cloth at her waist and tossed it aside. Once that was out of the way, he pulled her close and rolled over on top of her. Even in the dark, he was able to get her top undone with little more than a practiced flick of his fingers. He pulled it out of the way, then kissed his way down. Her soft skin was still slightly salty from her dip in the ocean earlier. Her breasts were on the small side, but firm and pert. He rather liked them that way. He'd much rather have them small but real than big and fake like far too many of the rich girls had. He found that practice repulsive. Why mess with what mother nature gave you?

She rarely wore makeup either. He loved that. He also loved her hair... pure black, but heavier, slipping smoothly between his fingers like silk. It reminded him of Clark's hair actually, only longer. He quickly pushed the thought aside, pulling his hand away from her hair. He had to concentrait on her and get into this soon, or it was going to be really embarrassing when she got into his trunks. He'd done this with girls more times than he could remember. What the Hell was his problem? There was a lovely, nearly completely naked woman beneath him and nothing. Well, he knew he'd get there sooner or later. He always did. He'd just go down on her to buy some time.

He slid his hand down her belly and into her bikini bottoms. She shivered as his fingers rubbed her gently, his lips travelling slowly down her body, but then her hand grabbed his wrist, pulling his hand back out.

Lex shifted up, trying to see what the problem was. He shifted over and turned the light back on, then looked over, surprised to see tears on her cheeks before she quickly looked away, trying to hide them.

"What's the matter?" He asked, "I thought this is what you wanted?"

"This is what my _father_ wants." she sobbed, her breath shuddering in her chest.

"I'm sorry." He said softly, shifting away.

She quickly took hold of him and hugged him to her, burying her face against his shoulder. "No... it's not you, Alexander. It's not that the idea of being with you is so terrible... it's just... my father wants me to have sex with you and get you to marry me so he can make money on some deal with your father. It just... it makes me feel like a _whore_.."

He let out a sad breath, hugging her to him. "Don't ever think that." He said softly, kissing the top of her head.

"I do care about you." She said softly, "You're the only man I've ever been able to be myself around. I think you're beautiful, and kind, warm, loving. I like holding you and kissing you and I love it when you hold me. You make me feel safe... and it never feels like you're just trying to con your way into my pants like most other guys." She pulled her head back, looking up into his eyes, "I look at you, and I see the only man I could probably be happy with... but..." She trailed off, at a loss for words.

He gazed deep into her eyes for a long moment, "You're already in love with someone else, aren't you?"

She closed her eyes as they started tearing up again, but reluctantly nodded her head.

"I take it you're not in love with someone your father can make a profit off of?" Lex ventured.

She gave her head a little shake. "Terri is an artist. Decent family, but not much in the way of financial potential. Photography mostly, and the occasional poem..." She said, sniffling as a little wisp of a smile slipped over her lips. "We've been together for almost three years now."

"So is this Terrance afraid of commitment, or is your father somehow keeping you two from getting married?"

She ducked her head down, muttering something softly against his chest.

"What was that?" He asked, shifting back a bit.

She sighed, looking up at him. "I said her name is Terrisa, not Terrance."

"Ah..." He said as things started making a bit more sense.

"I mean I like boys..." She said hurriedly, "But they... they just can't seem to make me feel like she does." She said, finishing softly, her eyes downcast, obviously worried about what he must think of her now.

He let out a little amused sound, then leaned his head forward and gently kissed her forehead. "We have even more in common than I thought."

Her eyes widened, staring up at him quizzically.

He didn't elaborate, choosing instead to make an observation. "She's a redhead, isn't she?"

She blushed and nodded.

"Why don't you two just run off together?"

She let out a little, humorless laugh. "Ya, right. And be poor and somehow magically blacklisted so we couldn't find jobs. Wind up living on the streets. Real bright future there. Terri's work is just starting to take off. She's had two showings already. She's really good. She could make it! But not if the galleries shut her out and the critics say her work is crap... which is exactly what dear old daddy promised would happen if I don't cooperate!" She sighed achingly, "I can't let him kill her dreams."

He started stroking her hair soothingly, seeing her eyes were starting to brim with tears once more, "What if he thought you tried your best and I was just a bastard? I could pretend to use you, then dump you when I was through with you. The tabloids claim I do it all the time. It wouldn't be your fault. Maybe he'd leave you alone then."

She sighed and shook her head, "You're not the only fish on the line. If I fail with you, he has his sights on someone else already. You remember Nelson? That whiny kid who's family used to summer in that God awful lime green condo down the beach?"

"Please tell me you're not talking about that rat faced boy who had that huge crush on you?"

"That would be the one." She sighed. "And from what I've seen, he hasn't exactly improved over the years either. I talked to him a couple of months ago at a party. He still has a crush on me, and given the chance he'd marry me in a heartbeat, whether I wanted to marry him or not. God, he makes my skin crawl!"

He sighed and hugged her to him comfortingly. He had no doubt Nelson _would_ marry her, even if he had to tie her up and carry her down the aisle over his shoulder! He'd only met him a couple of times since they were kids, but he only seemed to get worse with time. He'd long since graduated from a whiny, irritating kid to a lying, manipulative slime ball with a penchant for taking advantage of anyone he could and treating people like cheap commodities. He'd nearly quadrupled the size of his father's business since he took it over... but he did it using methods even _Lionel_ might have found questionable.

"Just... can you stay around for a little while longer?" She asked softly, "You know, pretend you're still interested for a bit longer? Maybe I can think of a way out of it... or at the very least it'd put off the inevitable for a time."

He didn't answer for a while. He just lay there, holding her. After a few minutes, he shifted away, gazing down into her eyes for a long moment, then leaned his head down, capturing her lips. His kiss was long, gentle and loving. She stroked her hand over his scalp as she kissed him back, enjoying the warm familiarity of his lips. When he finally broke the kiss she smiled, stroking the backs of her fingers across his cheek.

"Marry me." He said softly.

Her eyes went round and she blinked, "What?"

A warm smile slipped over his lips, "I asked you to marry me. Do you really require me to be down on one knee?"

Her jaw worked for a moment, then she finally managed, "But why?"

"Why not?" He replied evenly. "Neither of us want to be forced into a loveless marriage, but we both know our fathers are determined to see us paired up with someone. My father has more financial options, so he's probably got another half dozen or so girls lined up already. I'd much rather marry you than some vapid, gold-digging debutante. And perhaps I'm being presumptuous, but I'd like to think you'd take me over a prime catch like Nelson." He said with a little smirk, "There's a little farm for sale just down the road from the castle. It has a big, rustic barn that I bet Terri could convert into an amazing art studio."

"You... you'd let me keep seeing Terri?" She asked incredulously.

"I guess that depends on her. Do you think she could handle that kind of arrangement?" he asked seriously.

She blinked, looking thoughtful. "Well, she's pretty wide open. Just kind of goes with the flow and lets life take her where it will. She's a big believer in fate. You know, the artist type. It's one of the things I love most about her."

"So would she be alright with you living with me? In Smallville? I mean _she_ wouldn't have to live there if she didn't want to, but it would certainly make things simpler."

She shrugged, "Well, it's relatively close to Metropolis, isn't it? Besides, she would obviously have to have her showings in big cities, but she doesn't really like the city life. In fact, I think she's mentioned Smallville, so she might have even been there before. I think she'd really love living in a small town, actually, and I wouldn't mind it either. I've never exactly liked the constant attention and expectations everyone has of you in the city."

He nodded, "And she'd be fine with you being on my arm at social events and whenever we're in public... and sharing my bed at night?"

She blinked, "Sharing your bed...?" She asked, arching an eyebrow.

He gave her a little smile. "You don't have to have sex with me if you don't want to. I just... I want to hold someone while I go to sleep... to wake up and not find myself alone every morning."

"You sound lonely..." She said softly, "Wouldn't you rather find yourself someone you can love?"

He flashed her a little smile. "I could love _you_... and I think in time you could love me as well. Perhaps it wouldn't be the kind of love a husband and wife usually share... maybe our marriage wouldn't be _traditional_... but I need something in my life. I need someone who actually cares about me."

She stared at him for a long moment, gently stroking her fingers over his cheek, then down his jawline. "Someone broke your heart, didn't they?" She asked softly.

He averted his eyes, but couldn't bring himself to lie to her face.

She took a deep breath and sighed it out. "It's always stupid to knowingly let yourself become the rebound girl. Mother always warned me about that. You'll probably get over this in a couple of months and dump me for someone else... but..." She took a deep, bracing breath, "Yes... I'll marry you."

His eyes darted up to meet hers in surprise.

"I'll sign whatever pre-nup you want... but we've got to make up our own vows, because that 'forsaking all others' bit has got to go!" She added mirthfully.

He broke into a brilliant smile, capturing her lips. She quickly deepened the kiss, the tension finally completely gone from her body. He shifted onto his back, pulling her on top of him, then just enjoyed the feeling of her weight on him as she settled against him, nuzzling up to him affectionately.

Something seemed to ease inside him. He felt the tension he'd never even noticed was there as it left his body. He didn't have to lie to her. He didn't have to deceive her. It was so rare he found someone he could be so open with that he'd dreaded the idea of having to pretend he desired her. Well, actually he _did_ desire her, especially now. Not for her body or whatever financial benefit he might gain from marrying her... but for the acceptance and quiet understanding she offered him. That alone was more alluring than anything else she could possibly offer.

"God I want you right now!" She sighed, "Unfortunately, my diaphragm is in that bag on the bedside table over there... and since I wasn't the one who put it there, I'm willing to bet my dear father sabotaged it to get me knocked up so you'd have to marry me." She said a bit petulantly.

Lex gave a little nod. He'd suspected as much the minute he'd seen her reaction to it being there. "It's probably safe to assume one of them has gotten to my stash of condoms by now as well."

"So I guess we'll have to wait until we get away from the manipulative old bastards." She reasoned.

"Definitely not ready for children quite yet." He agreed, "But you don't mind if I spend the night with you...?" He asked hopefully. He didn't think another night of him sitting alone in his room, staring out at the ocean and thinking about Clark was a very good idea. Or a _safe_ one, for that matter.

She grinned. "Sure. You should probably take the trunks off if you're staying though. Knowing father, he'll probably have one of the maids 'accidentally' walking in on us to check up on me and make sure I'm doing my job!" She said, shifting over and sitting up, untying the strings on the side of her bikini bottoms.

Lex shrugged and doffed his trunks, tossing them off onto the floor. It's not like he'd ever been particularly bashful. He was surprised to find his interest had started stirring without him even noticing. "Let's not tell them I proposed, though. Not until we're leaving at least."

"Definitely." She agreed without hesitation.

Once they were both naked, she cuddled back up to him again. "Your skin is so smooth!" She said, grinning against him as she stroked her hand down his side.

"Thanks... but... um... you might not want to keep that up much longer." Lex said, feeling himself stirring even more from her touch.

She giggled as she slipped her hand down, exploring him. "Wow. Not bad!" She commented, shifting up and looking him over. Needless to say, his interest was instantly piqued. She sighed a bit petulantly, stroking him and gazing down at him longingly, then she glanced up at his face, looking him over with a speculative look. "Um... just how open minded are you?" She asked with a little mischievous grin.

The look sent a little twitch through his choicer bits. A wary smile slid over his lips. "I'd like to think I'm pretty open minded. Why? What did you have in mind?"

"Turn off the light and close your eyes." She said mysteriously as she quickly clambered off the bed and went over, opening up one of her bags that was stacked against the wall by the bathroom door. She obviously found what she was looking for, but then looked over at him expectantly.

He let out an amused breath and reached over, turning out the light, then dutifully lay back on the bed, closing his eyes. He could hear her shifting around a bit, but couldn't figure out what she might be doing. After a minute she came over and crawled back up on the bed, then lay down beside him. She took his hand and pulled it over, resting it on her stomach, then nudged it downwards.

He took the hint, letting his hand slid down the soft skin of her stomach... and unexpectedly ran into something. It felt like she'd put something on. He felt down a bit... a leather strap? Then his hand ran into something soft and rubbery. His eyes sprang open and he looked down. The lighting was dim... but the black leather harness around her hips was as unmistakable as the large silicon phallus she'd strapped on.

He looked at her face, able to make out the cautiously optimistic look and the way she was biting her bottom lip, waiting a bit nervously for his reaction. Oh, he had _definitely_ found the right girl! "Have I asked you to marry me yet?" He purred softly.

She giggled gleefully and pulled him into a deep kiss.

- 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 –

A/N – well, I kept thinking about adding another scene to this one, so I kept putting off posting it... but it breaks so nicely right there, so screw it. If you liked it, please do tell :) Reviews are always appreciated! Motivation is really hard to come by nowadays. My muse gets stubborn and bitchy when not fed :)

BTW – I put a little fanfiction writing pointers guide in my profile since they wouldn't let me make it a story. If you want to write fanfiction of your own and would like some advice, check it out!


	7. Overcast

Chapter 7  
>Overcast<p>

Clark heaved the bale of hay in his hand up onto the stack, then placed the one in his other hand beside it. Normally moving the hay from the rack into the barn was a quick, mindless chore he was done with in a few minutes, but today he was dragging. His father had eyed him oddly when he was still hauling the last few bails off the rack when he brought in this last load, but then dismissed it, most likely assuming he was going slow to avoid suspicion... a local boy was helping his father gather the bails from the field. Well, he was hardly a boy, since he was a senior at Smallville High. To be honest, Clark didn't even remember his name. Just another teenager looking to earn a little extra cash. They got them to help sometimes with things like this, things out in the open where people could see them while passing on the highway and might notice if they were getting done too quickly.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and made his way back to the stairs. He usually rarely sweated much, but he'd been sweating a lot that day while he was working. It was most likely just because of how hot and muggy it was. It was pretty miserable weather to work in. He glanced out the large open loft window at the sky. The clouds were thick and gray. They usually tried to plan this kind of time consuming work for the weekends, not to mention the hay was still a bit green to be packing away, but the weather man had predicted a string of storms starting that night and continuing off and on for at least a week, so they had to get the hay in while they could. He just had to remember to pack it a bit looser so the air could get to it better and it could finish drying in the barn.

He got back down to the bottom of the stairs and looked at the rack with a sigh. Just another ten bales, but his father would probably be back with another load any minute. He couldn't remember being so weary from doing simple manual labor before. Well, other than when he lost his powers for a time. He just felt so drained lately. He hopped up onto the rack and went over, grabbing up a couple of bales, then hopping heavily back off. He paused, his eyes darting over as the light level outside suddenly went from glum gray to a brilliant glow.

He found himself walking quickly out of the barn, moving away from it until there was no chance of shadows falling on him, then stopping as glorious warmth poured over him. He dropped the bales in his hands and tilted his head up, letting the blessed brilliance of the sunlight wash over him. It had been at least a week since the sun had last peeked out from behind the clouds for more than a minute here and there!

He quickly pulled his work gloves and his sweaty t-shirt off, revelling in the feel of the loving rays licking over his skin. He could almost feel the strength returning to him... and yet he had no urge to go back to work. He opened his eyes and looked down, then shoved the two bales together. He spread his shirt out near the top, then turned and sat on the hay, shifting back and laying down. It was prickly and not particularly comfortable, but he didn't care.

He stared up at the blue of the sky peeking through the clouds, trying to figure out how long he had. There was a long, narrow break between the cloud banks. If the winds stayed constant, he might have a good five or ten minutes before the clouds closed ranks once more. He smiled and closed his eyes, soaking it in and just letting himself enjoy it. According to the weather reports, this might be the last time he saw the sun for quite some time.

"Wake up, sleepy head."

Clark let out a disgruntled sound as the bale under him was kicked, jostling him. He opened his eyes and looked up irritably, seeing his father and his helper staring down at him with smirks on their faces. He sat up, realizing he'd dozed off. It was no reason to be rude, though! He just let out an irritable grunt and got up. He pulled his shirt off of the bale and tossed it aside to fetch later and grabbed up the bales, heaving them up and heading back towards the barn. He looked up as the light suddenly dimmed. The clouds had swallowed up the sun once more. He stared up at them morosely, filled with the suddenly feeling of loss. It was like watching a friend leave, knowing they wouldn't be back for a long time.

He winced as he was forcefully reminded of Lex. He pushed him quickly from his mind and continued on. He stalked dejectedly up the stairs and over to where he'd left off, placing the new bales in their place. His father was easing the new rack of hay into place behind the almost empty one as he came down the stairs.

Clark looked over as his father shut the tractor off.

"Well," Jonathan said as he hopped down off the tractor. "Looks like we're going to have to wait for that rack to be finished before we can use it to get those last dozen or so bales. What say we go in the house and have some lemonade while we wait, Jerold?"

"Sounds great, Mr. Kent. Hopefully Clark doesn't take any more naps. My parents want me home by dark." The boy said, throwing Clark a teasing smile.

Clark just glared at him, wondering how he'd like it if his hair burst into flames.

Jonathan chuckled and patted the boy on the shoulder as they walked out, but paused at the doors. "Come on in for some lemonade when you're done with that rack."

"No, thanks." Clark grumbled as he snatched up another two bales and headed back up the stairs. "I'm not thirsty."

Jonathan stood there for a moment, staring at his son as he walked stiffly up the stairs, but then went on out, not wanting to leave Jerold waiting.

Just to spite them, Clark worked faster. Still not super speed, but a lot faster than anyone else would have been able to haul that kind of weight that distance. By the time his father and Jerold wandered back some fifteen minutes later, he'd already emptied the first rack, moved it out of the way and moved the new rack up to the bottom of the stairs, hooked the tractor back up to the now empty rack, and unloaded about half of the other rack. Of course it was much quicker switching the racks around when you could just wheel them around by hand like a wheel barrel.

When they walked in, Jonathan's eyebrows shot up, then irritation flashed over his face before he hid it, glancing worriedly over at the boy to see his reaction.

Jerold let out a little laugh. "Trying to prove something, Clark?"

"Bite me." Clark grumbled, glaring at him once more before starting up the stairs. He didn't know why the boy was irritating him this much, but he was really rubbing him the wrong way.

"Clark Kent!" Jonathan said crossly, "There's no need to be nasty! What's gotten into you?"

Jerold gave a little snort, "He's just been in a bad mood lately. People are starting to talk. You'd think he'd be in a better mood now that he's finally got a girlfriend."

Jonathan's head snapped around. "He's what?"

Jerold blinked in surprise, "He's been seeing Chloe Sullivan. He didn't tell you?"

"No, he did not." Jonathan said evenly, turning his gaze back to Clark who had just finished with those bales and started back for more.

"Well, that's weird. He didn't seem to have a problem with letting everyone else know. He was making out with her in the middle of the Talon last Friday. I was there. It was pretty intense." He said, snickering.

"Why don't you mind your own business?" Clark snapped, wiping the sweat from his brow as he came down the stairs.

"You and I need to have a little conversation when we're done here, young man." His father said grimly.

"You know what? No!" Clark snapped. "I don't see how my sex life is any of your business. Not that Chloe and I are having sex, because we're not!" Clark added irritably when his father's eyes went round when the words 'sex life' had left his mouth.

Jerold snickered, "Then how did she know how well hung you were?"

Jonathan's eyes were darting back and forth between them.

"That wasn't... that..." Clark sputtered, too upset to come up with a tactful lie, then he gave up, "That's none of your damn business!" He said, snatching up two more bales and going back up the stairs. He tossed the bales on the stack, making them land a bit haphazardly in his irritation. One of the pieces of bale twine snapped, but he didn't care. He turned to go back for more and found, much to his irritation, that his father had followed him. He could tell by the all too familiar stubborn set of his jaw that he wasn't going to let this one go.

Clark's skin felt like it was burning he was so mad. His father had no right to pry into his private life!

"How could you risk her life like that?" Jonathan hissed.

"We didn't have sex!" Clark shot right back.

"But you two were obviously messing around." Jonathan replied, his eyes narrowing as he watched his son's reaction.

Tears blurred Clark's eyes. He wasn't sure if it was from frustration, anger or what, but he couldn't seem to get them to go away. "Did you really think I would be content to just stay a perfectly chaste little virgin my whole life?" He hissed back.

"I can't believe you could be so selfish!" His father replied stubbornly, keeping his voice low to make sure Jerold couldn't hear from where he stood by the rack below. "You know how dangerous it could be! If you lost control for even a moment..."

"I know!" Clark yelled, then dropped his voice back down again, "Don't you think that thought plagues me any time I so much as touch another person? I can't even pat someone on the back without the fear that I might misjudge and hurt them or worse. But a life without any hope of love isn't worth living. If you want to protect everyone from your _freak_ son, why don't you just _kill me_ and get it over with! You'd be doing me a favor! And once I'm gone you can get yourself a nice, _normal_ kid like Jerold over there. Wouldn't that be nice?" Clark hissed sarcastically. "Of course you'd probably rather just let me suffer through a long, Hellish life just so I can be a damn workhorse for you. And you call _me_ selfish!" He said as he brushed past him and stomped down the stairs as his father stared after him in utter shock.

Jerold quickly backed up when Clark got to the bottom of the stairs. His amusement had fled when the argument between father and son had obviously taking a more serious turn.

"And you!" Clark growled towards Jerold, "All you've been doing is taking the bales off the back of the baler and stacking them a few feet away. I could do that in my sleep! Try hauling them up those stairs sometime! Most people would simply get a conveyor to haul them up there for them, but why waste the money on that when he has _me_ around to do it practically for free? I did all of my chores before you even showed up, and since he was busy trying to get the baler to work all day, I did his, too! And while you'll probably get a nice little bit of money for your couple of hours of work, I get the same crappy little pittance of an allowance I always get, no matter how much I do! So if you want to laugh about me taking one tiny little break, why don't you try trading me sometime?"

Jerold's eyes were round, but strangely they were filled with concern. "Are you ok, man?" He asked in an oddly soft voice.

"Just dandy." Clark replied sarcastically. He reached up and pulled a bale off the rack, but for some reason he lost his grip on it and it fell to the ground. He just stared down at it laying there, the twine split open and the hay coming loose. For some reason, he couldn't think what to do next, so he just stood there, staring.

"Your nose is bleeding." Jerold said worriedly.

Clark looked over at him, puzzled. His nose didn't bleed! What was this guy talking about? He reached up and brushed under his nose, then looked down at the bright crimson that stained his dirty work glove. He just stared at it, but that wasn't easy, because his vision was going in and out of focus oddly and his hand was shaking like he had palsy.

"Clark?" Jonathan asked in alarm, hurrying down the stairs.

Clark looked over at Jerold, but then the young man (along with the barn) started tilting to the side for some reason as the world went gray.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

Clark stirred as a cool, damp cloth swabbed his face. He turned his head away. The breeze that was playing over him was kind of nice, but the wetness on his face was irritating. The cloth was pulled away.

"Clark?"

He blinked his eyes open, looking over towards the voice. "Chloe?" He asked in surprise, glancing around and taking in his surroundings. They were in his bedroom. She was sitting on the side of the bed, and the big square fan they used in the summer was sitting on a chair, pointing at him. "Wha... what are you doing in my room? What am _I_ doing in my room for that matter...?" he muttered, trying to remember how he got there. He hadn't slept in his room since that first fight with his dad. He looked over at the window. He could feel cool, wet air flowing in as a breeze kicked up, ruffling his curtains. It was dark outside, and he could hear rain pelting down on the roof.

"Apparently you yelled at your dad and Jerod Taylor, then passed out." Chloe said with a little smile on her lips.

"I... I what? What was I yelling about?" He asked. He gave his head a shake, trying to clear the cobwebs... but that only made his head swim, so he stopped.

"Your 'sex life' apparently. I didn't get the blow by blow, but that's what I heard your father mentioning when I was coming up to the door. He seemed oddly reluctant to let me see you..." She said, pulling a little embarrassed face.

Clark groaned and pulled the pillow out from under his head, putting it over his face. "Smother me, please." He pleaded softly, his voice a bit muffled.

She didn't comply, choosing instead to pull the pillow off of him and shove it to the side. "Don't worry... I told them we're only friends. I told them we were just pretending because some guy accused you of being gay, and they know it was entirely my idea, so hopefully they'll drop it."

Clark gave a little snort. "I'm curious... have you actually _met_ my father?" He asked with weak sarcasm.

She grabbed a tall glass of water off the night stand. "Here, have something to drink."

He hadn't realized how thirsty he was until he saw the glass. He quickly sat up, then grabbed his head as it swam again.

"Whoa, careful there!" Chloe said, putting her free hand on his back. "Take it easy."

"What's the matter with me?" He grumbled half to himself. He'd only felt this weak a couple of times in his life, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out what could have happened to make him feel this way now.

"Most likely heat stroke and dehydration. Please tell me you didn't really haul two and a half racks full of hay all the way up into the loft all by yourself in ninety five degree weather with high humidity! And without even stopping for a drink?"

He sighed, taking the glass and chugging it down. Well, he did feel better once he'd finished, but he still felt a bit shaky. He handed the glass back, not meeting her eyes.

"And of course, you need to eat." She added.

He just gave a little dismissing breath, "Just give me some more water. I'm fine."

"No, Clark," She said sadly, "You're not. You're obviously going through some pretty serious depression. You talked to him, didn't you? Before he left?"

He just averted his eyes.

"Don't tell me that jerk just dumped you!" She said, looking like she might cry or beat the crap out of Lex at any moment.

"It's not like that." He muttered. "Someone as famous as him can't exactly get caught with someone like me, now can he? He'd get smeared in every paper in the country."

"So?" She snapped. "If he doesn't think being with you would be worth it, then he's an idiot!"

"And..." Clark forged on, ignoring the opinion, "He thinks I don't really want him. He thinks what happened between us was just some fluke and that I'm just pretending to be interested now because I think _he_ wants _me_."

Chloe gave a snort. "If it were about anything else I could see his point. You are _entirely_ too decent and selfless sometimes. But when it comes to getting in your pants, you are more than willing to say no, no matter how much the other person wants it! If you need someone to vouch for that fact, I'd be more than happy to!"

He looked over at her sharply, but she was grinning and he realized she was being facetious.

Then her smile faded. "Listen, I know this sucks... but you can't starve yourself to death over it!"

"I'm not..." He began.

"Please! Look at yourself, Clark!" She said, reaching over and patting his stomach. It was still concave, despite him being in a somewhat slouched sitting position that wasn't usually flattering to the human body, no matter how fit you were. "You have to have lost at least six or seven pounds! And you didn't exactly have a lot of body fat to begin with! You're going to start burning internal organs or something if you don't cut it out!"

"I'm fine." He muttered, pulling the sheet over and covering himself a bit with it. He was still wearing his pants, and she had seen him wearing considerably less, but he still felt a bit bare at the moment.

"Stop saying that! You're not!" Chloe insisted, then her expression softened. "Hey, I've been there. One time I lost twenty pounds after a bad break up before I snapped out of it. Of course, unlike you, I kinda needed it, so it worked out for me," She conceded, "but it's still really unhealthy. Especially with how active you are! You need a lot of fuel to do the work you do every day, and if you stop feeding your body it's going to stop working!"

He dropped his eyes.

"Besides, your mother is beside herself. She found the food she packed you this morning still sitting in your backpack."

Clark cringed. "I should have gotten rid of that." He muttered morosely.

"You should have eaten it!" Chloe replied. "Oh... and Jerold spilled about you fainting in the hallway and being sent home early on Friday."

Clarks groaned and flopped back down on the bed, covering his face with his hands. His parents must be going ballistic! "I'm surprised mom left my side." He muttered.

"She was reluctant to, but I offered to watch you, and they've been talking nonstop ever since."

Clark glanced over at the clock. "It's almost ten o'clock! What are you still doing here? It's a school night!"

"It's not like I was going to leave before you woke up!" She chided. "Besides, I was trying to do you a favor. I was hoping they'd burn themselves out before you had to deal with them."

"Unlikely, but thanks for the thought." He said as he dropped his hands and shoved the sheet back off of him. "Still, it's late. You should go home. I wouldn't want you falling asleep in class tomorrow. Besides, I doubt this is going to be pretty." He said, finishing darkly.

"My advice is to go down there and tell your mother you're _starving_. Your mother isn't going to turn that down! Eat lots of food, then tell them you're really tired. Maybe you can play on their sympathies and buy yourself some time."

"Thanks, Chloe." He said, leaning over and kissing her cheek.

She blushed and grinned. "Any time!"

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

Clark gave a mental sigh as he realized he couldn't possibly fit any more food into his stomach. It must have shrunk, because he knew he used to be able to eat a lot more. Well, stage one of Chloe's plan had worked. He had serious doubts that stage two would work, but he gave it a try anyway.

"Well, it's late and I have school tomorrow." He said, adding a yawn for affect.

"Sit back down." His father said evenly when he tried to rise.

Clark sighed and settled back down.

"Why didn't you tell us you fainted Friday?" his mother asked worriedly.

"I didn't faint." Clark said in exasperation, "I ran into a girl with a huge chunk of meteor rock around her neck. The teacher saw me fall down and sent me to the nurse. The nurse suggested it might be low blood sugar, and that was the best explanation to get me out of there without her insisting that I see a doctor, so I went with it. She sent me home, but I didn't want to alarm you, so I just hung out at the Talon." Clark said wearily.

"You still should have told us." His father grumbled, "We know what the meteor rock does to you. Why would that have 'alarmed' us?"

"I don't know!" Clark grumbled back, "You've been so touchy about everything lately I didn't want to give you anything else to go off about."

"We're just worried about you, dear." His mother said softly, shifting closer and stroking her fingers over his hair.

He dropped his eyes a bit guiltily. He hated making his mother upset. "I'm fine, mom." He muttered.

"Obviously not if you're getting nose bleeds and passing out!" His father insisted, "You were out for nearly three hours!"

"I was tired, hungry and dehydrated, not to mention it was like an oven in that barn. There wasn't even a breeze most of the time! I may be strong, but I'm not a God!" Clark replied heatedly, "And I've had a nosebleed before! I remember."

"That was before!" His father shot back.

Before he became impenetrable. It's not like that hadn't occurred to Clark. He just shrugged, "Nothing cut me. A blood vessel in my nose just got dry and cracked. That happens."

"To other people, maybe." His father continued stubbornly.

Clark sighed and grabbed up his fork and stabbed it hard at his wrist, then held it up so his father could see the mangled tongs. "Happy?"

His father folded his arms over his chest, "Maybe I would be if you hadn't just cut yourself."

Clark's eyes darted down to his wrist. There was a tiny little drop of blood there. He furrowed his brow and wiped it away. There was a tiny pinprick in his skin, but it disappeared as he watched. "Well, it's gone..." He said, though he couldn't hide the little underlying bit of worry that had crept into his voice.

"Don't do things like that, Clark!" His mother said worriedly as she took the ruined fork away, then took hold of his wrist, inspecting it for damage.

"Sorry." He said softly, "I didn't think it would... I... I feel better now, really mom."

"Well, no more skipping meals!" She said firmly. "We know that you get some of your strength from the sun, and that hasn't been out much lately. Obviously it's having an effect on you."

"That's probably why you were drawn to it when there was a break in the clouds earlier." His father conceded, his voice still grumbling, but softer now.

"You usually eat almost twice as much as your father does, but lately you've barely been eating anything. You can't keep going on without sunlight or food!" She insisted.

"I know." He said, dropping his eyes again, "I just haven't been that hungry lately."

"Is there something wrong?" His mother asked, gazing at him worriedly, "Something at school bothering you? Chloe said there was a boy making your life difficult."

Clark rolled his eyes. "Jenkins is just an idiot. I don't care what he says. It was Chloe's idea to pretend to be a couple, not mine." He let out an exasperated sigh and got to his feet, "Listen, I'm fine. I'll eat. I just want to go to bed now."

"Honey, we just want to help you." His mother said worriedly.

"You heard him, dear." Jonathan said, gazing at Clark with irritation, obviously still sore from the angry comments Clark had made to him in the barn... though Clark only half remembered what those might have been. "He doesn't want our help. If he does, he'll ask. Otherwise he'll just have to suck it up and deal with it and stop sulking like a kicked puppy."

"Right." Clark replied evenly. He leaned over and gave his mother a kiss, then pointedly turned and stalked out the kitchen door into the rainy night, not pausing as he shot his father one last glare on the way out.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

"Where are you going?" Lionel asked, watching one of the servants carrying Lex's bag towards the waiting car.

"Leaving." Lex said simply, checking his messages distractedly on his phone.

"But I thought you were staying until next Wednesday. We made plans. We have friends coming in this weekend who were looking forward to seeing you." Lionel said in a disapproving tone.

"Your friends, not mine. I'm sure they don't really care if I'm here or not. I gave you a week. That was longer than I was planning, so you should be happy with what you got. You trained me to keep myself busy, dad. Surely you didn't think I could handle sitting around the beach doing nothing productive for two whole weeks! I have a business to run. Besides, you know I don't tan, so what's the point?"

"But you're being rude to our guests, Lex. Elise will be heartbroken when she finds you've run off and..."

"She's coming with me." Lex replied, not taking his eyes off the screen or waiting for the completion of the attempted guilt trip.

Lionel blinked in surprise, looking over and noting the other bags being loaded into the trunk of the car for the first time. "Oh... so... you two hit it off, I take it? Where are you taking her?" He asked, trying to make the question sound casual.

"Smallville, of course." Lex replied, "She's eager to see where she'll be living, and mother's ring is in the vault there."

"Your mother's ring?" Lionel asked leadingly, an eager grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I didn't exactly bring it with me, and considering I asked her to marry me Sunday I think it would be a bit rude to keep her waiting for the ring much longer, don't you?" Lex asked, slipping his phone away and looking up at him for the first time.

"Congratulations, son! Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I didn't want to have to watch you two gloating the whole time." Lex answered with a little grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lionel said, affecting confusion at the suggestion.

"You two aren't nearly as subtle as you apparently think you are. Pat yourselves on the back as much as you like once we're gone, but understand this... I'm not marrying her because _you_ want me to. If anything, that was a strike against her. I'm marrying her because of _her_... and because mother was right... we do fit together well. Just to make it clear, you're done meddling in my love life, is that understood?"

"I would never meddle in your love life, Lex. I only want you to be happy." He eased closer, reaching out and placing his hand on Lex's shoulder. "You just wait and see. Once you're married and have a family of your own you'll understand why I've done everything I've done for you."

"God, I hope not." Lex said evenly before turning and walking away, leaving Lionel gazing after him with a confused expression, his mouth slightly agape.

- 0 -

"Don't screw this up!" Elise's father hissed at her, "Get pregnant as soon as possible so he can't worm his way out of it!"

"But, Daddy! Neither of us are ready to have kids!" She protested, "We just want to..."

"Stop whining about what you want and do as you're told! There's too much riding on this for us to depend on your seriously lacking feminine whiles. Would it have killed you to put on a little makeup? You're trying to land a billionaire's son, not a sheep herder! I want progress reports every week! And if I hear about you so much as looking at that damn dike, I'll..."

"Surely you're not talking about the lovely Terrisa." Lex said as he came to a stop behind the man.

The man spun, his cheeks flushing at having been caught. "Ah... Lex. So good to see you! I just heard the good news!" He said with a big grin.

"Obviously. Elise, could you make sure everything's in the car before we leave? The jet is waiting and I don't want to have to come back for anything." Lex said, not taking his eyes off her father.

Elise gave a little thankful nod and hurried off towards the car.

"I just wanted to get a few things straight with you before we leave." Lex said, folding his arms over his chest and gazing at the man with a cold smile on his face, "First of all, I _am_ going to marry your daughter, but don't hold your breath for an invitation to the wedding."

"What?" He asked, obviously shocked.

"I have no respect for any man who would try to whore out his daughter for his own financial gain. I don't want your presence tainting my wedding. My father should be free that night, so you two can hang out and congratulating each other if you like. Second of all," Lex quickly forged on as the man's cheeks flushed and he opened his mouth for an angry retort, "Your role in your daughter's life is now _over_. She is _mine_ now, and Luthor's aren't known for sharing. She will not be calling you, and you will not call her. You may send her cards or presents on her birthday and Christmas, otherwise I don't want you contacting her in any way. Anything you send her will be opened in my presence, and any further attempt by you to manipulate her will be dealt with. Oh, and by the way... If we decide to have children, it will be when _we_ chose. I am also very much looking forward to meeting Terrisa, and in fact have already taken the liberty of purchasing her a home near the castle. What happens between her and Elise, or myself for that matter, is none of your business. Furthermore, if you so much as look at Terrisa wrong or say a single disparaging word about her or her art to anyone I'll show you how my father taught me to deal with enemies. You've done business with him for many years, so I don't think I need to elaborate, do I?" Lex asked, his expression having gone positively glacial, his gaze promising terrible things if he was crossed.

The man swallowed a bit thickly, then he quickly shook his head.

"I'm glad to see we understand each other." Lex said with another cold smile. "If you're lucky, we'll never meet again."

The man just watched mutely as Lex went over and got into the car, then they sped away with a spray of sand.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

Clark walked slowly out of the school amongst the bustle of teenagers rushing home. Well, one more dreary, mind numbing day down, just one more to go until he finally reached a weekend and didn't have to deal with people anymore. It would be a three day weekend at that since Monday was an in service day for the school. Of course that was entirely too long to have to deal with his father. At least tonight should be blessedly peaceful. His parents were running a load of cattle to the market that night. The cattle sale was a couple hours drive away, and while the weather was supposed to be pretty good tonight, tomorrow morning they were predicting torrential downpours starting in the predawn hours, so his parents were planning to make the drive that night, stay the night in a hotel, then come back tomorrow once the rain let up. Clark certainly didn't mind doing extra chores tonight if it meant getting some desperately needed peace and quiet!

He was amazed he'd made it this long, actually. He wasn't sure how he'd managed it, but he probably had Chloe largely to thank. The rumor that they were a couple was pretty firmly in place by now. It probably just reinforced the rumor that he kept touching her whenever they were together. That's not why he did it though. He just couldn't seem to help it. She was like the only light that could shine through into the gray void inside him that mirrored the ominous gray clouds that filled the sky, seeming to be intent on choking the life out of the small town. He couldn't help but reach out to her any time she was within reach, her very presence seeming to stabilize him when he needed it most. She didn't mind. She seemed to like being his rock.

Of course they both knew he'd have to 'break up' with her soon. She knew he'd never want to take it further, and he knew that a pretend boyfriend wasn't the same as a real one. It wasn't fair to Chloe to keep up the charade. She had the right to find someone who would actually love her like a real boyfriend could. He'd been growing a bit worried that she'd forget it wasn't real... until he'd seen that little smile that had slipped over her lips when Tommy smiled at her in the hallway. No, he definitely wouldn't be breaking her heart when they 'spilt up'... especially since their _real_ relationship wouldn't really change.

Actually, speculation about who the resident 'alien' might be had already started to die down... though, oddly, the little alien icon had become rather commonplace. Clark didn't know how many times a day he saw that sad little face staring at him from a shirt, or button on someone's jacket or backpack. He'd even spotted the article itself taped on the inside of at least a dozen lockers. The vast majority of his 'fans' were female, of course, but he'd even seen a few guys wearing the buttons. He knew it was just a trend, or they just liked the image... the girl who'd drawn it was a very good artist after all... but sometimes when he was slipping away towards a dark place, seeing those little aliens had helped. It reassured him to think that among the trendy 'aliens' there might be a few that actually _were_ like him (well, in their own _human_ way). Maybe he'd helped them feel better about themselves and their situations in some small way. Maybe they were wearing those pins to say thank you. Maybe they were trying to tell him that writing that article had meant something to them... and that he really _wasn't_ alone. Sure, it was probably all in his mind, and even if there were some real 'aliens' out there, it probably wasn't many... but the possibility helped in a way.

He made his way slowly towards the Talon, making his pace purposely sedate so the bulk of the students that were heading in that direction passed him by. He wasn't exactly feeling social. He didn't really want to deal with Lana, whom he'd been doing a rather admirable job of avoiding thus far, but he didn't want to go home either. His parents probably hadn't left yet, and his mother had been getting more and more worried about him. The far more perceptive of his parents, his mood (and especially his continued lack of appetite) had obviously not gone unnoticed by her. She was still packing food for him in the mornings (and checking to make sure it was gone in the afternoons) and watching him like a hawk at the table. She obviously didn't like it when he didn't even finish off a single plate of food at mealtimes, let alone go for seconds as he used to... but he was eating some, so she grudgingly let him get by with it. Of course he wasn't really eating the food she packed, he'd just started giving it away during lunch. Given his mother's skills in the kitchen, he had no trouble finding takers. Yes, it earned him glares from Chloe, but he just rarely seemed to feel hungry. Of course it was a bit irritating that his pants were starting to get a bit loose on him. Chloe was right... it's not like he had much body fat to begin with, and it's not like he'd stopped doing chores or anything, so his muscles weren't diminishing, so he wasn't sure where that weight was hiding before he lost it, but apparently it had been around somewhere. Well, perhaps he still had a bit of baby fat on him. Getting rid of that wouldn't be so bad. He'd look older. Maybe... he pushed down the thought that maybe Lex wouldn't think of him as a child if he looked older. It wasn't just his age that was the problem.

Some people had even started speculating that he was sick. The fact that he'd supposedly 'fainted' last Friday was pretty much common knowledge now, and that jerk Jerold had obviously told people about him getting a nose bleed and passing out, because he'd heard that being whispered about behind his back as well. He'd even spotted the school nurse watching him pensively several times. Why couldn't people just mind their own business?

He glanced over, seeing a familiar sad-eyed button. He was surprised to find it on the shirt of a middle aged woman. Perhaps she was the parent of one of his fellow students. He watched her pass by, wondering if she had even read the article.

All of a sudden, he ran into someone. He automatically grabbed to keep the person from falling.

"Whoa!" a girlish voice chuckled, "Nice catch!"

He looked down at the person in his arms, then blushed and quickly backed off. She was quite pretty actually. Long, lazy copper curls spilling over her shoulders, and the most brilliant grass green eyes he'd ever seen. She had her back to him, twisting her head around to gaze at him. He immediately released her.

"Sorry!" He blurted, blushing.

"Entirely my fault." She replied, her eyes dancing with amusement as she turned around to face him properly, "I have a nasty habit of walking backwards sometimes when I'm taking pictures." She said, holding up her camera for him to see. It was one of those big, cutting edge professional looking ones. "Sometimes I just forget about my surroundings when I'm focused on capturing something. Hi. I'm Terri. I'm new here." She said, sticking her hand out.

He hesitantly shook it before quickly releasing it. "Um, nice to meet you. I'm Clark. I've lived here most of my life. You work for a newspaper or something?" He asked, eyeing the impressive piece of equipment. His gaze then drifted past it, taking in what she was wearing. Her tight t-shirt matched her eyes almost perfectly. Her pants were somewhat loose cargo-style khaki colored jeans, but they did nothing to hide the rather nice curves of her body. She had that strong, sturdy yet slim build like the girls who were on the track or swim teams often had. She also had a small brown purse type satchel on her hip, the long strap of it crossing her chest to her opposite shoulder, the way the strap pressed between her breasts making them a bit more noticeable. Her breasts were just about the same size as Chloe's. He quickly pulled his eyes off of them as he found himself wondering if they would feel the same.

She chuckled. "No. I just take a lot of pictures." She said, her eyes searching his face avidly. "You are _breathtaking!" _she said with earnest admiration, "Have you ever modeled?"

He blushed. He'd never been called breathtaking before. He also couldn't recall having anyone looking at him with such single minded intensity before, especially not such a gorgeous woman! Well, she didn't look that old, but she was obviously older than him. Maybe not drinking age yet, but definitely out of High school. He flashed her a nervous smile. "No."

Her expression sobered, "Such a beautiful boy shouldn't have such sad eyes." She said softly, her lovely eyes clouding with sympathetic sadness.

He blushed darker as he averted his eyes, "Um... what brings you to Smallville?" He asked quickly. Was it really so blatant that a complete stranger saw it?

"My friend, actually. Her fiance lives here. She's moving here and I'm just kind of tagging along. He just bought a farm, and he said I could live in the farmhouse if I like. Guess he's not using it." She said distractedly, her gaze still intent on his face. She took his hand, turning her intensive gaze on it as she turned it, seeming to find it fascinating.

Wow... he really wasn't used to this kind of attention! Her soft, warm fingers were tracing over his palm, sending little tingles through him. He pulled his hand away as politely as he could.

She flashed him another dazzling smile, "Sorry. My lack of social skills is showing again, isn't it? My awareness of the concept of personal space goes out the window sometimes. Hope I didn't make you too uncomfortable. I'm an artist." she added as if that explained everything.

Maybe it did. Clark hadn't known a lot of artists. "Oh." He said in surprise, "Would I have seen any of your work?"

"Probably not in Smallville." She said with a grin, "I do have a lot of my work being shipped in. The truck should be dropping my stuff off in a couple of hours as a matter of fact. Come on by some time and I'd be more than happy to show you some of my work."

He blinked. Was this young woman actually asking him to come by her place? He shifted uneasily, not sure how he should take that. This wasn't really a situation he'd found himself in before.

"And of course if you're ever interested in _modeling_..." She said leadingly, her gaze drifting down his body.

He blushed ever brighter, especially when he felt his pants tightening a bit. He doubted he could get any redder in the face when her focus (and the little grin that tugged at her lips) indicated she'd noticed.

She smiled broadly, "I'm sorry again. That was wildly inappropriate. I'm not trying to hit on you, really. I realize now that's probably how it's sounding. I mean you are..." She just let out a little inarticulate breath of appreciation, "But... I mean you're probably like fifteen..."

"Um... sixteen, actually."

She let out a little soft whimper, dragging her eyes laboriously back up to his face. "I really don't mean to seem so forward. It's just the way I am. I blame it on my childhood. I was legally blind up until I was like six, though I ironically have always had a photographic memory... so I guess I've been kind of making up for my initial lack of sight ever since. I just have this insatiable need to see everything. I also sometimes have issues with that little filter between my brain and my mouth that weeds out the inappropriate stuff. Mostly when I'm distracted..." She said, her eyes flicking down for a second before she could stop them. "I should go now. It was absolutely lovely to meet you, Clark."

"Um... ya. Right. Nice meeting you, too. Maybe I'll see you around." He said, forcing a little smile. Man was this embarrassing... though oddly not unpleasant. There was no question that it was flattering that such a gorgeous woman quite obviously found him attractive. It went a long way towards rebuilding his self esteem. Actually, he hadn't even realized how much it had needed bolstering until then.

"Hey! Since you seem to know your way around here, do you know where a place called the 'Talon' is?" She asked quickly before he could leave.

He blinked in surprise, "Ya. It's just about a block down. It's the one with the big marquee." He said, pointing it out, "It used to be an old movie theater."

She looked where he indicated and spotted it. "Oh! Thanks. I'm supposed to meet my friend there. You going that way?"

"Oh, um... I've got to run to the store and get home." He said, nodding his head the other direction. He'd find something else to do to while away his time. Dealing with Lana would be bad enough... dealing with her and a really hot, unconsciously flirtatious redhead? That was just a bit too much for him to deal with at the moment.

She furrowed her brow, "But you were headed that way...?" she said curiously.

"Ya... I was heading home, but while we were talking I remembered something I needed from the store." He said quickly.

She gave him a little humoring grin, obviously not fooled by the explanation. "Alright. See you around, gorgeous." She said, thankfully letting him off the hook without embarrassing him further.

He started meandering slowly in the other direction. He couldn't help but glance back at her. She was taking pictures of a precocious little girl who looked perhaps four years old. She had pigtails and was wearing a little pink floral dress. When she was done she spoke briefly to the girl's mother, then gave her what looked like a business card before turning her attention to the hand carved stone embellishments on one of the buildings. Clark just kept finding himself looking back. She really did look like she was completely entranced by the world around her, like a kid discovering their first amusement park.

She turned the camera around, looking for new subject matter, then suddenly jerked the camera down. "Whoa!" She yelled out, holding up her hand in a warding gesture. Clark's eyes darted over to where she was looking. The little girl she'd been photographing and her mother had crossed the street. The mother had stopped to talk to someone and the girl had obviously slipped away unnoticed. She came to a stop at Terri's yell, a few feet into the street. Her mother spotted her, alerted by Terri's yell, and hurried over to grab the girl's hand.

"I got it!" Terri said reassuringly to the girl as she hurried forward.

Clark glanced for cars, but the closest one was almost a block away, so he quickly stepped off the curb, moving out a bit so he could see what was going on. Terri was heading for what looked like a little worn teddy bear lying in the street that the girl must have dropped when she'd crossed.

Clark jerked back instinctively as the car that shouldn't have been anywhere near him yet careened towards him at a completely stupid speed for in-town driving, nearly clipping him. It was obvious from the way the car veered towards him and the engine was gunning that it had been a purposeful attempt to hit him, or at least scare him.

"Watch it, Kent!" Jenkins called back maliciously as he sped past, his head turned back towards Clark to see his reaction.

Unfortunately, Jenkins obviously hadn't noticed what Clark had been staring at and wasn't following his own advice. Terri was in the middle of his lane, just straightening up holding the teddy bear, far too close to get out of the way in time at the rate of speed Jenkins was travelling.

- 0 – 0 – 0 - 0 - 0 – 0 – 0 -

A/N - I would have preferred it if this one were a bit longer, but it was break it here or have to wait like four more pages. Anyway, I wanted to completely finish writing this before posting anything more so I could give an accurate chapter count at the very least... but it's really hard to write sometimes without even reviews to encourage me. I have written the majority of the rest, but I still have a few gaps to fill in and I will still probably be proofreading the heck out of it, so don't expect me to post the rest all at once or anything. I think I'm going to go back and remove references to how long this will be. Well, when it's not nearly one in the morning and I'm not really tired anyway. It just seems to make my muse want to prove me wrong.

Anyway, in addition to my _desperate_ need for motivation, I also have a question for you. How many of you are guys? Because I would honestly like to know how realistic this sounds to guys. I'm female, and most of my reviewers that I know the gender of appear to be female as well. I have been told that I don't give enough time to 'preparation' when I have a sex scene between two guys. Let's see... how to put this tactfully? Umm... do guys really need more prep and lead up to being taken from behind than girls do? I tend to write from experience, so if there is a disparity between the genders, I would really like to know! I don't need graphic detail or anything, just a general opinion would be appreciated, and of course you can put it in a private message if you don't feel it's posting appropriate or just don't want other people reading your response. If the 'discussion' continues in further chapters I promise I will not mention any names (I don't generally anyway, just wanted to reiterate in case it's a concern). Oh, and if you're a guy, but don't have an opinion on the sex scenes for whatever reason, I would still like to know you read my work (for my own curiosity), and if you could give an opinion on the realism overall of the male characters and my portrayal of them in my writing it would be greatly appreciated.

And to my female fans, I don't mean to exclude you, and I, as _always_, fervently encourage _everyone_ to review, no matter their gender, nationality, race, _species, planet of origin_. I don't care! If you can write (preferably in English), please review! I was just curious. I would also like to hear your opinions of how realistic you think I am portraying my characters. Please do specify your gender though when answering this, so I can know which perspective I'm getting. Thanks!


	8. Depth

Chapter 8  
>Depth<p>

Clark saw Terri's eyes go wide as she spotted the car barreling towards her. Even at super speed, Clark had to practically tackle her to get her out of the way. The car still trimmed him. A shot of pain lanced through his side as it knocked him aside. Clark wrapped himself around her and twisted around instinctively to take the brunt of the impact with the pavement.

They rolled to a stop near the opposite curb. The girl's mother had snatched her up and gotten her back to the curb and was staring down at them with a horrified expression.

"Oh my God! Are you alright?" She asked, sounding near panic.

Terri blinked her eyes open, looking up dazedly at Clark, who was currently laying on top of her. He was gasping some, a bit winded by the speed and the blow, but didn't look particularly in pain. She felt up his side, finding the rip in the side of his shirt, but the skin underneath was unbroken. She pulled her eyes off of him and over to the little girl, who was crying loudly in her mother's arms, obviously terrified. "There, there." Terri said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. She looked down, then pulled the teddy bear from between her and Clark and held it up. "We're fine. See?"

The woman edged closer, looking very shaken, and let her daughter retrieve her teddy bear. The girl hugged it to her, her wails dying down and turning to sniffles "Oh God... If you hadn't have stopped her, my little Michelle would have been in that street!" The woman said, tears streaming down her cheeks at the thought of her daughter being plowed over right in front of her.

"She's fine... and I'm fine, thanks to my savior." She said, looking up at Clark, who was shifting up, trying to get off of her without hurting her.

He looked at her at the mention, then glanced over at the woman and back, blushing once more. "I just... I umm..."

"Saved my life." Terri finished for him. "I don't know _how_ you did it, but thank you!" She said earnestly, reaching up and taking his head between her hands, pulling it down.

Clark suddenly found himself in a deep liplock. His eyes closed automatically. It was amazing! Her lips tasted like strawberries and were obviously very experienced at kissing. He felt a bit dizzy when she finally relented and released him.

"Um... it was nothing." He muttered, a bit disconcerted when she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close.

"Could you give me a hand up?" She whispered in his ear, "I think my ankle's sprained."

He quickly shifted up and looked her over with concern. She had a few scratches and the start of what might well blossom into a bruise on her jaw, but looked otherwise intact. He shifted to x-ray vision and gave her a glance over before helping her to her feet. He lifted her up, setting her gently on her feet, but keeping a hold of her to lend her support. Her ankle looked like it'd been given a nasty twist and may have some bruising, but the bones were still intact.

She put on a brave face, stroking the little girls' hair soothingly and reassuring her she was fine, then suggested her mother take her home. She watched as the mother carried her away and gave the girl a little wave before she rounded the corner. As soon as they were out of sight, she sagged against Clark. "Oh, God! I need to sit down!" She said with obvious pain.

"You want to go to the hospital?" He asked with concern.

She shook her head. "I just want to go to that Talon place. I'm supposed to be meeting my friend soon. I'm sure my ankle will be fine, I just need to get off of it."

Without further comment, Clark gently whisked her up into his arms and simply started carrying her towards the Talon.

She chuckled softly, leaning her head against his shoulder. "My knight in shining armor."

He just blushed, not commenting. He didn't look at the handful of other people who were standing around, staring at them. There had been no one in close proximity when he'd saved her, so there were no real eye witnesses that he knew of other than the little girl and maybe her mother. The man the mother had been talking to had gone into the store after talking to her. He'd come back now, but obviously hadn't seen what had happened. The others had just heard the commotion as well and had come to see what happened.

Jenkins, of course, was nowhere to be seen. He hadn't even stopped. From what Clark had heard, it sounded like he'd perhaps slowed, then quickly hit the gas again, rounding the corner and speeding away, obviously hoping no one would have seen who was driving. Clark knew he had to have felt or at least heard the impact, though it had been minor. The boy hadn't even come back to see if anyone was hurt. Unfortunately, Clark wasn't sure if he should tell the sheriff who it was. If Jenkins was caught and questioned, questions might arise. Like how Clark had gotten from the corner all the way around the speeding car to knock this woman out of the way half way down the block. He knew Jenkins should pay for his recklessness, it had almost gotten someone killed after all, but his need to try to protect his secret plagued him.

She shifted her head up, shifting her camera around and looking it over. She sighed as she removed the large lens that was obviously broken, then tossed it into a trash can as they passed it. She continued her examination, then let out a soft, grateful sigh. "I think it'll make it." She sighed in relief.

"Good. That looks expensive." He said.

She let out a little amused snort. "No kidding! It cost more than my jeep! Of course my jeep isn't exactly top of the line. I think it's actually older than I am, come to think of it."

Luckily, they arrived at the Talon just as a man was leaving and he held the door for them. Clark carried her in, then looked around. The large, curved couch was free, and there was no one close to it, so he took her to that. He set her carefully down, then saw Lana heading over with a puzzled expression on her face. It was obvious she'd seen their entrance.

"Who's your friend, Clark?" She asked, looking at Terri curiously.

"This is Terri. Some idiot nearly ran her down. She twisted her ankle pretty bad. Do you have some ice for it?" He asked.

"Oh! Of course! You ok?" She asked with concern.

"I'll be fine." Terri said distractedly, trying to shift around so she could untie the laces of her short boot without putting pressure on her ankle.

"I'll get it." Clark said, when she winced. He sat down and gently lifted her leg, pulling it across his lap for support, then he very gently undid the laces. She grabbed his sleeve and grimaced in pain as he eased the boot off, but to her credit she didn't make a sound other than a relieved breath when it and the sock were finally off.

"Doesn't look too bad." Clark said as he looked it over. Ya, he could already see the start of some bruising, but all things considered, she was insanely lucky. Clark couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. It was _him_ Jenkins had been aiming for after all.

"Here you go." Lana said as she hurried back over, handing him a cleaning cloth knotted around some ice to form a crude ice pack. Then she pulled a roll of stretchy tan bandaging out and handed that to Clark as well. "This should help keep down the swelling. Do you want me to call anyone for you?"

Terri waved it off, "I'll live. My friend will be here soon anyway. Thanks."

Lana shifted, obviously wondering if there was something more she should be doing.

Clark glanced up at her. "I got it from here. Thanks, Lana." He said distractedly as he started carefully wrapping the ankle.

"You know how to do that?" Lana asked with a little dubious smile.

He let out an amused breath. "I grew up on a farm, Lana. Believe me, I know how to wrap a bandage!" Well, not really on himself, but he'd had to patch up his dad a time or two.

"Right." She said, bobbing her head. She glanced past them, then hurried off.

Terri rooted through the little satchel she was wearing that he'd taken for a purse. From the contents, it obviously was more like a camera bag, albeit a small one. She located another, much smaller lens and snapped it into place on the camera. She pressed a button, turning the camera on. The camera had a view finder near the top, but when she hit a button the small screen on the back of the camera lit up with an opening screen before clearing and focusing on the table across from them. She clicked a couple of pictures, watching how it reacted, then let out a sigh of relief. "Still working." She said happily.

"Well, that's good." Clark said, finishing with the bandage and pinning it into place with the little metal hooks. "You should be able to say the same for your ankle as long as you keep off it for a day or two." He said as he gently settled the ice pack on it.

She winced slightly, then relaxed, leaning back into the cushions a bit. He noticed she didn't seem at all inclined to remove her leg from his lap. She gazed at him, but it was different this time. It was more like she was searching for something than like she was trying to memorize him like before.

After a minute, she glanced around carefully, making sure no one was within earshot, then shifted a bit closer. "How did you do that?" She asked softly.

"Do what?" he asked warily.

"Get from that corner all the way over to me and knock me out of the way? You were just a blur you were so fast!"

"I... I couldn't have gotten all the way from the corner to you. I wasn't that far away." He said, trying to make it sound convincing.

She gave him a little smile, then flipped a switch on her camera and started paging back through photos. After the test shots she'd taken in the Talon, they started with a slightly out of focus close-up of Clark's face, the murky gray of clouds behind him along with the tops of some of the buildings. There were a few pictures that were just a blur, then a blurry picture that was obviously of Jenkins in his red convertible, the next was pretty much the same, but in very sharp focus. He could see the shock on Jenkins' face. More followed, slowly stepping back through time as she went, the convertible inching away, Jenkins' head turning back to look behind him. Then Clark noticed the little blur about halfway between her and the corner. In the next picture it was less blurry, obviously a person, a male his size and shape, wearing the same colors as him. In the next picture he was standing on the corner in sharp focus, staring at her, his eyes wide with alarm.

She left it on that picture, looking over at him and just waiting silently to see his response.

Damn it! Of all the bad luck! He'd never thought she might catch him on film! Well, this was digital, but whatever. Hey... wait a second... "You... didn't have your camera up, even. How did you...?" He said, trailing off, perplexed. He knew he'd seen her face clearly... and the camera had been hanging around her neck. Her hands had been picking up the teddy bear, not aiming her camera, let alone pushing the button!

She gave him a little smile, taking another glance around, then looking back at him. She looked intent, but didn't say anything. He glanced back down at the screen as it flickered... and saw himself staring back at him, the Egyptian style décor behind him unmistakable. He furrowed his brow, reaching over and taking the camera, bringing it closer for a better look. The screen blinked again, and a picture appeared of himself staring down at the very camera he was viewing the image on! She glanced over at the counter and an image of the counter appeared on the screen, then she looked back at him, obviously waiting for his reaction.

"How...?" He asked softly, staring at her in shock.

She gave him a little grin. "I suspect you know how. It's not my first time to Smallville. Last time I was here, I was about six. My mother and I were passing through when the meteors came down. One hit near us... I woke up in the hospital, and I could see."

An image popped up on the screen of a young, red haired girl in a hospital gown, gauze wrapped around her head. It was obviously an image of the girl looking in a mirror, her brilliant green eyes wide with amazement. "That was all that really changed for a while, then a couple of years later I realized I could transfer my mental images to digital media. Only what I could currently see at first... but with time my photographic memory has become pretty literal."

Images appeared on the screen, looking like fleeting glimpses from her past, then he saw images of himself from when they'd first met. Him flashing a smile, him looking embarrassed, his hands shoved in his pockets nervously.

"It might not be that impressive a gift in comparison to speed like that or being impervious to damage, but I like it." She said with a little shrug.

"What do you mean, impervious...?" He asked carefully. She might have him on film (kind of anyway), so the speed thing was a little hard to refute, but...

She reached over, brushing her hand over the skin of his side through the hole he hadn't even noticed in the side of his shirt. There was a slight hint of a bruise starting, but the skin didn't even have a scratch. "There was a pointed ridge next to the headlight. At that speed, it should have sliced through you like a knife. I felt the impact, so don't try to tell me it missed."

He stared at the floor, trying desperately to think of a way to explain that away.

"Oh, don't look so tense! It's not like I'm going to tell anyone! I mean if I did, you'd tell them _my_ secret, now wouldn't you?" She said reasonably, "I don't want to end up in some scientist's lab somewhere any more than you do."

"Like anyone would believe me even if I did. I couldn't exactly prove it, now could I?" He replied, his gaze sweeping around to make sure no one wandered within hearing.

"Oh, believe me, it's not always voluntary. You think I wanted pictures of nearly getting creamed? When I get scared or alarmed it goes off like the rapid fire button. You should have seen it the first time I had a bad nightmare with my camera too close to the bed! Man, were those some interesting pictures! Actually, some of them ended up being some of my most popular pieces. It's pretty cool actually. Nowadays just entering R.E.M. sleep sets it off even when the dream isn't bad. I sleep with my camera on my nightstand every night now. Talk about keeping a dream journal!" She smiled, then it faded as she glanced around before going on, "I read some of the stories about other people with odd... 'gifts' after the meteor shower. They rarely ended happily, which worried me, but you seem to be handling it well." She said, her eyes focusing on him once more. "Have you ever met other people _like us_ that didn't go horribly wrong in the end?"

Clark weighed his options, then decided he might as well be honest with her. Well, to an extent, anyway. How many others could he really talk about such things with? Besides, she was putting herself on the line by telling him as much about herself as she had... opening up a little bit himself seemed like the least he could do. "Not many." He admitted sadly. "Most of them I've had to end up getting locked away. Something about it seems to just drive them a bit crazy. Maybe it's the power. They start thinking they can do whatever they want and..."

"Go over to the _dark side_." She said dramatically.

He let out a little, amused breath. "Ya."

"Well, I might be a bit stronger than some girls, but that might just be genetics... and overall I have a rather innocuous gift with no real 'power' to speak of, so hopefully that won't happen to me!"

"Let's hope not." He said, giving her a little smile.

"So... you said _you_ get them locked away... why?" She asked, staring at him avidly.

"Because they're usually hurting people or worse." He said, furrowing his brow. Did she think he was supposed to feel some kind of kinship to them and let them go?

"No... I mean obviously they would need to be put away if they were a danger, but why were _you_ involved? You guys have cops here, don't you?"

He flashed her a sad little smile. "The cops can deal with _normal_ stuff... but they're not exactly equipped for what that meteor shower threw at them. _I_ do it because most of the time I'm the only one who _can_."

"You really are a knight in shining armor, aren't you?" She asked with a smile, reaching over and stroking her fingers down his cheek. "I don't think I've ever run across such a beautiful person who was even _more_ beautiful on the _inside_. Looks and powers... and neither of them has corrupted you. You are a very rare person, Clark."

He blushed a bit and dropped his eyes. He glanced around again and his blush darkened. Chloe was standing near the door, but from the little smirk on her lips she'd been there long enough to note Terri's interest in him.

Terri grinned, obviously enjoying his embarrassment. "So... is there anyone else who appreciates your many merits?"

"Hmm?" He said, pulling his eyes back to her and furrowing his brow.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" She clarified with a little chuckle.

"Oh... um... well, I kind of... um..." He stammered.

"Oh, no need to gush over me like that, Clark!" Chloe said mirthfully, coming over and claiming the arm of the couch beside him as her perch and gazing at Terri with open interest. "Hi there. I'm Chloe." She said.

"Hi. I'm Terri. Oh... oh, sorry! Didn't mean to be manhandling your boyfriend." She said, shifting away from Clark.

"Oh, hey, no! Don't move on my account." Chloe said quickly before Terri could move her leg off Clark's lap.

Terri settled back down, though she looked a bit confused. "Are you two...?"

Clark looked up at Chloe, "Um... we... uh..."

"What he's trying to say," Chloe said mirthfully, "Is that we've been friends a long time, and we recently dabbled with being boyfriend/girlfriend... but we're really much better at just being friends."

"Are you sure...?" He asked her softly.

Chloe ruffled his hair, then leaned over and kissed his forehead. "Ya. I know we were going to wait to make it official until the whole alien issue was over, but it's pretty much died down. Besides, it's been a while since I've seen someone make you smile and blush like that. I'm certainly not going to stand in your way!"

"Um... I'm sure she's probably seeing someone already." He said in an embarrassed undertone.

"Oh... well..." Terri said with a little smile, "That's a little complicated."

"Too bad." Chloe sighed sincerely, then she leaned closer to Clark, "But still, we really should 'break up' if you're going to have girls hanging on you like this. Might get tongues wagging, otherwise."

"She nearly got hit by a car! I was just helping her with her hurt ankle." Clark said, his cheeks still glowing.

"He neglected to note that he's the one who kept me from being hit by that car." Terri chimed in.

Chloe's eyes went wide and darted between them, then she smiled. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised. He's probably saved half the town by now, one by one. He has a bit of a hero complex, and uncanny timing. He might be habitually late for everything and is rarely around when you _want_ him to be... but he always seems to be there when you _need_ him."

"Well, that's what's important, isn't it?" Terri asked, grinning at Clark. Once Clark had squirmed sufficiently, She turned her attention back to Chloe, "So, what's the 'alien issue'?"

"Hmm?" Chloe said, then she caught on, "Oh, it's, well see there is this article that ran in the high school paper..."

"Oh! You mean _Alienation_?" Terri asked.

Chloe blinked in surprise. "Did you see the copy up by the counter?"

"No, I read it online." Terry replied, "I spent a couple of rather memorable months in Smallville when I was a kid, and I still tend to follow the local news. I've been reading the Torch since it first went online, though it's only really gotten interesting the last couple of years."

"Well... I should say thank you. I'm the current editor." Chloe said, obviously very pleased.

"You're Chloe _Sullivan?"_ Terri asked in surprise, "Oh, wow. It's so weird when you read someone's work and then suddenly meet them! I find your stories fascinating!"

"Well, I always enjoy meeting a fan." Chloe said with a grin, "Especially since there's probably only five or six of you out there!"

Terri chuckled. "Oh, I very much doubt that. But what does the article have to do with you and Clark?" She said, getting back on track.

"Oh, well, it's just been a tricky proposition for any of the boys at school to break up with their girlfriends since that was published. None of them want people starting rumors that it was _them_ that wrote that article."

"Ah. I see." She said, then she eyed Clark, a mischievous grin slipping over her lips. "Would you like me to manhandle you _more_, then?"

"Um, no, that's ok." Clark said quickly when he saw Chloe opening her mouth.

"Killjoy." Chloe muttered mirthfully. She looked over to Terri, "Have you ordered anything?"

"Just the ice." Terri replied.

"I can go order you something if you want. Clark, what kind of pie do you want?"

"I don't want anything, thanks." He demurred.

Chloe let out a little snort. "You're eating something if I have to force feed you like a toddler!"

Just then Lana walked up, handing a surprise Clark a large brownie on a napkin and a mocha.

"What's this?" He asked quickly before she could walk away, "I didn't order anything!"

"No..." Lana said with a little mischievous smile, "Your _mother_ did. She called me earlier. She figured you'd be stopping by here after school today. I'm supposed to call her and tell her if you don't eat it, so don't make me make that call!"

"Oh, come on! Why is everyone ganging up on me all of a sudden?" Clark sighed a bit irritably.

"Maybe because you seem to be trying to starve yourself to death." Lana replied, "It's been over a week since I've seen you even touch anything in lunch at school, and from the look of you, you haven't been eating much any other time either. If you refuse to take care of yourself, then someone has to do it! Now eat up, because I don't want to have to tattle on you!"

Chloe snickered merrily at Clark's obvious embarrassment.

"By the way, sorry!" Lana said to Terri, "I had a waitress call in sick, so I'm shorthanded today. I'll be back to get your order in a minute. That table has been waving at me for attention for about three minutes now."

"No problem." Terri said, watching her hurry off.

Clark sighed and set down the drink, then started eating the brownie a bit irritably.

"See? I'm not the only one that cares." Chloe said in a little cutesy voice as if talking to a little boy as she stroked his hair, then leaned over and gave his forehead a little kiss.

Clark just rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, little more than the word 'ridiculous' clear enough to be understood.

"Anyway, if you're not sure what you want, they have amazing cappuccino here." Chloe said to Terri, "I'd highly recommend it. I think Lex lives on the stuff, doesn't he Clark?" She asked mischievously, smirking down at Clark.

Clark's chewing had paused for a second when she mentioned Lex's name, but then he took another bite, pointedly ignoring her.

"Lex? You mean Lex Luthor?" Terri asked.

"Ya." Chloe said in surprise, looking back over at her, "He's co-owner of this fine establishment. You've heard of him?"

"Heard of him and spoken to him on the phone about half a dozen times in the last few days!" Terri said with a chuckle, "He and my friend Elise just got engaged. No wonder he wanted to meet here."

Chloe's jaw dropped, but Clark's reaction, though far more subtle, was the one that caught Terri's attention. He instantly stopped chewing, the pain that flashed through his eyes before he looked away was so strong she could almost feel it. He forced himself to swallow the bite in his mouth, then distractedly dropped the half eaten brownie onto the napkin on the table.

"Oh, _very_ nice." Chloe grumbled in dark irritation, "He ran off and got himself engaged. Figures. That only took what? A week?"

"Chloe." Clark said in a low, reprimanding voice, not looking at her.

"Just saying it happened awful quick. He certainly doesn't waste his time, now does he? And he didn't even bother to tell his 'best friend'?" Chloe grumbled.

"Drop it, Chloe." Clark muttered, his gaze fixed on the floor. He'd known Lex had talked about finding a girl and settling down... but somehow he never imagined he'd actually do it! And especially not pretty much instantly!

"You're Lex's best friend?" Terri asked in surprise.

"We're friends..." Clark replied noncommittally.

"Oh please! You two are inseparable!" Chloe replied, "Closer than brothers! I doubt anyone could _have_ a better friend than you! Especially him! In fact, I doubt that bald jerk even _has_ any other friends. The way he treats people sometimes..." She muttered irritably.

"Chloe!" Clark said in a sharp undertone.

She looked over at him and sighed and rolled her eyes, then made a little gesture of zipping her lips closed.

"Well, hello again, Mr. Kent." The sheriff drawled, sidling up to them with impecable timing. "I hear tell you pulled someone out from in front of a maniac driver a few minutes ago. From the bandage I'd say this was her." She said, eyeing Terri's wrapped ankle on Clark's lap.

"Ya, that was me." Terri offered when Clark didn't chime in right away. "Sorry, I was a bit shaken up and didn't think to call the police."

"Timely reporting of crimes, whether they succeeded in their intent or not, is crucial in capturing and dealing with people who put the public in danger." The sheriff said in a reprimanding voice.

"I understand. Sorry. I'm new in town." Terri replied penitently.

The sheriff eyed Clark again, noting the way he pointedly wasn't looking at anyone. "Would you like to tell me what happened, Mr. Kent?"

Clark gave a little shrug, "I just saw her about to be hit by a car and got her out of the way." he said shortly.

"Well, who was driving it? If it was a local, I'm sure you, of all people, would recognize them." The sheriff prompted.

Clark gave a little noncommittal shrug. "Red convertible. The driver was a white guy with dark hair. Kinda young, maybe late teens." He said. He was sure she'd probably gotten most if not all of that information already from people who'd heard the commotion and caught a glimpse of Jenkins squealing away.

"You don't have any more than that?" She asked, obviously dubious that he was telling her everything.

"I didn't get a real good look." Clark replied evenly, "It happened pretty fast, and I was a little busy getting her out of the way."

The sheriff turned her gaze on Terri.

Terri pulled her eyes off of Clark and nodded, "Ya. It was all very fast. I barely saw anything before Clark shoved me out of the way. It was all kind of a blur, and I didn't get another look after. Whoever he was, I don't think he even stopped to see if we made it."

The sheriff nodded, taking notes, "There was some glass on the street. Did the car actually hit you?" She said as her eyes went down to the rip on the side of Clark's shirt.

"That was probably from my camera lens." Terri supplied, "It broke when I hit the ground. I threw it away in that trash can on this side of the street about twenty yards from where it happened. It was smashed and I didn't want to get cut, so I just tossed it."

"You seem awful quiet, Mr. Kent." The sheriff noted, eyeing Clark, obviously having noticed how withdrawn he seemed, "Anything you'd like to add?"

"Nope." Clark said, gently taking a hold of Terri's leg and lifting it a bit so he could slip out from under it, then setting it gingerly down on the couch.

"Where are you going?" The sheriff asked.

"To the bathroom." Clark replied as he walked off, not awaiting leave to go.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Sorry about him!" Chloe quickly interjected, getting up off the arm of the chair. "It has nothing to do with this. We broke up today." She added in an undertone, "He's just a little... um... I'm just going to go check on him..." She said, hurrying off after him.

"Teenagers." The sheriff muttered, rolling her eyes and turning her attention back to Terri.

Chloe hurried back towards the restrooms. Clark was already out of sight, so she just hoped he really went where he said he was going. She paused, listening at the door of the men's room, but she couldn't hear anything. She gave the door a little knock. "Clark?" She called softly.

The only sound was that of one of the stall doors closing.

Chloe sighed. She glanced back to make sure no one was looking, then quickly slipped in the door. She glanced around. She'd never been in the men's room before. Well, ok, not this one at least. It was pretty nice, but she supposed she shouldn't have expected anything less here. Some places might skimp on the décor of the men's room, but Lana wouldn't.

The room appeared empty, but the furthest stall had its door closed. She bent down and glanced under. He wasn't hard to spot. He was sitting on the floor against the wall, his legs drawn up.

"Clark..." She sighed softly as she walked over.

"Just go away, Chloe." He replied , though his voice was little more than a whisper.

"You know I can't." She said as she opened the stall door and looked down at him. His arms were wrapped around his legs and his head was resting on his knees. "And if you really wanted me to, you would have at least locked it."

"Chloe..." He said softly. He was obviously trying to make it sound exasperated, but it just came out almost like a soft plea.

She knelt down beside him and wrapped her arms around him, drawing him in.

He didn't resist, letting her pull him against her. His hold on his legs loosened and he put his head on her shoulder, letting himself sag into her a bit. She stroked his hair soothingly, just like his mother used to when he was little and upset. He tried not to let himself cry, but her gently stroking fingers seemed intent on coaxing the tears out.

He pulled away after a minute and struggled up to his feet, shifting his head away until he'd scrubbed the tears from them. He took a deep breath, then forced it out. "This is stupid." He muttered, slipping past her and going over to the sink.

She walked over as he turned on the water and splashed some on his face. She reached out, resting her hand on his shoulder. "No, it isn't."

"Yes, it is." He said as he dried his face a bit roughly. "He said he was going to find a girl and settled down. I knew he was serious. It was stupid not to realize he wouldn't waste time. That's just not how he is. He decides to do something and he does it. It's done. He's engaged. Soon he'll be married, maybe even starting a family." He said, his voice tightening, "This is better for everyone."

"It's obviously not better for you!" She shot back.

He shook his head. "It will be." He glanced up at the mirror, at the lost, hollow eyes that looked back at him, then quickly looked away. "Someday." He added softly.

She took a deep breath and sighed it out. "You need to get out and have some fun. Forget about stupid bald billionaires who don't know a good thing when they've got it. Hey! There's a party tonight, why don't we go?"

"It's a Thursday." Clark muttered, "Who has a party on a school night?"

Chloe gave a little shrug. "It was supposed to be happening Friday night, but they sent around the word at school today that it's been changed to tonight. The weather report says it's going to be raining all tomorrow, and Saturday night as well. Tommy said he heard that whoever is throwing the party already bought the keg, so..." She shrugged again. "I'd have you home by ten latest. If it's lame, we can leave early. Of course, if you'd rather not, I can just come over to your place and we can watch a movie or something."

He gazed at her for a moment, then sighed, "Sure. We can go." He muttered without much enthusiasm. He'd really rather not, but he could tell by the mention of Tommy that she wanted to go... and _why_. Of course it was also obvious she had no intention of leaving him alone tonight, so if he didn't go, neither would she. He could deal with being around drunken idiots for a while if it'd make her happy. She deserved at least that much for putting up with him.

"Cool!" She said, her face lighting up. "Come on, I'll give you a ride home, then come back by to pick you up around dusk."

He just nodded again and let her lead him out. He just followed, lost in his own thoughts until she suddenly came up short.

"Crap." She muttered under her breath.

Clark looked up to see what was the matter. His breath caught in his throat as he spotted a very familiar bald head. Terri was still sitting on the couch, and there was a girl with long black hair hugging her desperately. Clark felt his stomach sink as he realized who it must be. Her friend... Lex's new fiance.

"Speaking of my savior," Terri said when she spotted him, "There he is now."

The dark haired young woman turned tearful, red rimmed eyes on him, then sprang up and darted over to him, wrapping her arms around him,"Oh God! Thank you so much!" Elise gasped, hugging him a bit desperately, "I don't know what I would have done if anything bad happened to her!"

Clark just stood there, not sure what to do. He looked up as Lex turned. When their eyes met, something unreadable flashed through Lex's eyes, but then he forced a smile. Clark could tell he hadn't been counting on Clark being there.

"I should have guessed." Lex said softly, "Saving lives is a bit of a hobby of his. Elise, I'd like you to meet my friend Clark."

"It is _wonderful_ to meet you, Clark!" Elise said, pulling back enough to gaze up at him adoringly.

"Um... ya... hi." Clark muttered uneasily, wishing she'd let go. Damn it! She was supposed to be some stuck up, bitchy debutante that he could hate! How was he supposed to hate such a delicate, sweet looking, doe-eyed girl who obviously cared so much about her friend? Life just wasn't fair.

"Did you hear?" Lana blurted excitedly from where she stood on the other side of Lex, "They're engaged! Lex and Elise are getting married!"

Lex let out a barely perceptible sigh and closed his eyes for a second, but then hitched his smile up again, looking over at Lana. "I was just about to tell him about that." He said evenly, the implication that she should have kept her mouth shut and let him say it wasn't very subtly hidden in his voice, but somehow Lana managed to miss it. She was still grinning and all but bouncing with excitement.

"Ya. I heard already." Clark muttered. He forced a little smile. "Congratulations."

"Clark is Lex's best friend in the whole world." Terri offered with a little smile.

Clark blushed and dropped his eyes, but they just met Elise's smiling face.

"Wonderful!" She said happily, then she turned her head to look over at Lex, "Oh this is just perfect! So is he going to be your best man?"

Lex's cheeks tinged a bit pink, "I... haven't had the chance to ask him yet."

Lana gave a little snort. "You act like there's a chance he'll say no." She said merrily, "I mean come on! He was your best man _last time_, wasn't he?"

Elise blinked, "Last time?" She asked, finally dropping her hold on Clark as she turned, her eyes darting over to Lex in askance.

"Ya, what a psycho that lady was!" Lana said with amusement, "She even nearly got him to close this place down! Glad he got rid of that one!"

"If you recall, that woman drugged me to get me to marry her, and the marriage was annulled." Lex said a bit tightly, then added, "That would have been right after she tried to_ murder me._"

Lana finally registered the coldness in his tone and realized he might not have wanted that little tidbit brought up in front of his new fiance. "Oh... um..." She said, looking back towards the back of the room, "I'll be right there!" She said, then looked back, "Gotta go." She said quickly before scurrying off.

Lex sighed, shaking his head slightly as she went up to a table. From the surprised looks on the faces of the teens at the table, it was pretty obvious no one had really called her over.

Chloe gave a little snort. "She may have put down her pom-poms, but she still has the occasional cheerleader moment." She muttered ruefully under her breath.

"Well, I should be going." Clark muttered.

"But you haven't even touched your drink!" Terri protested.

"I'll get it put in a to-go cup." Chloe quickly volunteered, going over and grabbing the mug. "We've really got to be going. We're going to a party tonight, so Clark's got to run home and get his chores done before it starts."

"A party? On a school night?" Lex asked dubiously.

"What are you? His mother?" Chloe quipped sarcastically.

Lex just looked at her perplexed as she went past him, her shoulder bumping his rather unnecessarily in passing.

Clark glared after her in exasperation. She saw the look, but just smiled back.

"I just think it's a bit..." Lex started, then trailed off, his eyes having caught on the rip on Clark's shirt. "Did the car actually get you?" He asked quickly, stepping closer and reaching out.

Clark's eyes darted over to Lex's as he felt his warm hand press against the bare flesh of his side. His stomach instantly tightened and the tiniest shiver of pleasure went through him before he could force himself to shift back. The movement got Lex's hand off of him, but his other hand had been holding the bottom hem of his shirt up, and the movement exposed a bit more of him. Clark saw Lex's eyes catch on his slightly more prominent than usual ribs and widen with even more concern. "I'm fine." Clark said quickly. "The edge of the car caught on my shirt, but it barely even brushed me."

Lex looked up at Clark when the young man brushed his shirt back down into place.

To avoid further discussion on the topic, Clark moved over to the couch, resuming his seat beside Terri. She'd set the ice pack on the table and put her foot down, so the spot was open, but there was no room for anyone to sit on the other side of him (unless they sat on the arm of the couch, as Chloe had, but Lex wouldn't do that!).

Lex didn't look happy, but he went over, taking a seat on the opposite end of the curved couch. It gave him a clear view of Clark, but the table between them made the spot more... appropriate. Elise looked tempted to sit by Terri once more, but chose instead to sit beside Lex. Very close beside him. She seemed to sense his less than pleased mood and slipped her hand over, lacing her fingers in his and resting her head against his shoulder comfortingly.

"I don't care, by the way." She said softly after a moment, breaking up the slightly uncomfortable silence that had settled over their little group.

Lex looked over at her in surprise. "About...?"

She flashed him a little grin. "The other wife. Whatever happened, it's over now."

"Right." He said quickly, then took a deep breath and sighed it out. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it before. That one's a really long story, and not exactly one I like retelling. The saddest part is, if I'd have just..." He paused, his eyes flicking, meeting Clark's gaze. He took a little breath, then forded on. "If I would have just listened to my best friend I could have avoided the whole ordeal. Clark knew there was something wrong from the beginning. He tried to warn me, but I didn't want to hear it. I let her twist it around and even turn me against him. I turned my back on him when I should have known he was just trying to protect me. He always has, since the day we met. When I finally got out from under her spell, and Clark forgave me, no questions asked... that was when I swore to myself that I would never let anything come between us like that again."

Clark held his gaze for a moment longer, then dropped his eyes. He really wished Lex wouldn't say things like that. Not here, not after what had happened between them. Hearing Lex talk that way about him made it really hard not to say anything... and especially not to do anything. God! He had the almost overwhelming urge to go over there and take Lex into his arms and... no. That was stupid. Lex was engaged. His eyes caught on a glint of light and he saw the ring on Elise's finger. Lex's mother's ring. Clark quickly dropped his eyes again.

"That's beautiful." Elise sighed with a smile on her lips. "Well, don't worry, I don't plan on ever coming between you. I'm sure Clark and I are going to be great friends. I've only just met him, and I already adore him!" She said happily.

Clark glanced up, then his eyes locked. She was kissing Lex. She was kissing him, and Lex was kissing her back... not like he had to for show, like he _wanted_ to. His fingers grazed gently down her cheek, then brushed down her neck, then sliding gently around, drawing her closer.

Lex flinched as there was a sudden, sharp thwack to the back of his head. He broke the kiss and looked over, watching Chloe glare daggers at him as she stalked past him and over, taking her perch on the arm of the sofa and looking like she'd dearly love to beat the crap out of him. He opened his mouth, about to ask her what the Hell that had been about, but just then he caught sight of Clark.

Clark quickly darted his eyes away, staring fixedly at a spot on the floor across the room.

Lex closed his mouth. Clark's eyes were watery and his his whole posture was tense, his expression the carefully controlled neutral one he used when he was upset.

"I should go. I have chores to do." Clark muttered, shifting forward to rise.

Terri quickly grabbed his elbow to stop him. "Whoa! Just a second there, gorgeous. Aren't you even going to say goodbye?"

"Sorry." Clark muttered softly, "I just... I have to go."

She gave him a little smile and a nod. "I know." She said, shifting closer and slipping her arms around him, "I just wanted to give you a proper goodbye."

Before Clark could even say anything, Terri leaned in and claimed his lips. It was just as nice as the first time... even nicer in fact, since he wasn't still stunned and winded from a near death experience. He closed his eyes, letting her go on a bit...

Chloe watched the quickly deepening liplock with surprise, a little smirk tugging at the side of her lips. Wow... if she wasn't mistaken, it looked like tongues were getting involved! After a moment, she started to wonder what that odd little sound was... it was like a ticking, but softer. It sounded like it might be coming from behind the couch. She leaned back some, trying to locate it, then her eyes caught on a flickering light. Terri's camera was in her hand, resting on Clark's shoulder... and her finger was holding down the button. Image after image of Lex trying to pretend that Terri and Clark making out right in front of him wasn't upsetting him filled the screen.

Chloe tried to disguise her snort of laughter as a cough.

When Terri finally let up on him, she just shifted back a little, then rested her forehead against him. "You are the most amazing kisser..." She purred softly, a bit out of breath. "If you don't have plans for this weekend maybe you could come by and help me unpack...? I could show you some of my work."

"I... uh... I don't have any plans." Clark panted. She'd thrown him for a bit of an emotional loop, and he wasn't sure he could handle a girl like this... but she'd managed to quell the pain in his heart for the moment... and he was all for anything that could do that. "And... I mean if you don't have anyone to help you, I guess I could help out. You really shouldn't be doing too much walking around and heavy lifting with that ankle." He reasoned.

"I'll give you a call, then." She murmured, still mere inches from him, "What's your number?"

Clark stammered, temporarily blanking out his own phone number.

Chloe held out her phone with his number displayed on the screen.

Terri looked at it, then grinned up at her. "Thanks. Got it." She said, finally shifting back. "I look forward to seeing you again, Mr. Clark Kent. I have a feeling you and I are going to get along famously."

Clark just gave her a little embarrassed grin, then got up. "Um... see you later." He said.

"You can count on it!" Terri replied with a mischievous grin.

"I can send over a couple of my maids to help you settle in." Clark heard Lex offer as he made his way to the door. "Since you're injured it is the very least I could do."

"No thanks. I think I have it covered." Terri replied merrily. She gave Clark a little wave as he glanced back at her one last time.

- 0 – 0 – 0 –

"You didn't tell me the party was at Crater Lake." Clark said as Chloe shifted the car into park.

She glanced over at him. "I didn't realize it mattered where it was." She said, furrowing her brow, She glanced down at his clothes, noting he was wearing a t-shirt with nothing but a light flannel over it, "Oh, sorry! Do you think you'll be warm enough in those clothes? Do you want me to run you back home for a jacket?"

Clark sighed, unbuckling his seat belt. "No. It's fine." He muttered, getting out of the car.

By the time he made it to the bonfire, he was already feeling a bit queazy from the meteor rock in the lake, though the bonfire was a good fifty meters from the water. He just ignored it. Someone handed him a tall plastic cup full of beer in passing. He never usually drank, but he went ahead and took a healthy slug. It tasted like crap, but he didn't really care. He knew it probably wouldn't do anything to wipe away the memory of Lex with that girl on his arm, his mother's ring glistening on her finger... but it was worth a try.

"Hey, Clark. I was wondering if you'd come." Pete said as he walked over to him.

Clark just gave a little shrug. "Nothing better to do, so I might as well."

"Ya... well... it's not exactly the most healthy place for you to be." Pete said in an undertone.

Clark just gave another shrug, "We're practically in the parking lot. I'm a little queasy, but it's not strong enough to do anything this far away. Besides, Chloe wanted to come."

"Ah." Pete said. "I thought you were calling that off."

Clark rolled his eyes. "She may not be my 'girlfriend' anymore, but she's still one of my closest friends, Pete. It's not like I'm going to stop hanging out with her."

"Ya, I guess." Pete muttered with a slight shrug.

After that, they just stood around for a while. Pete had brought a can of pop, but Clark only had the beer to drink. When he refilled his glass from the keg, Pete looked over at him, then glanced around before saying in a low voice, "You really think you should be drinking?"

Clark just gave a little half amused snort. "It tastes bad, but I doubt it's going to do anything to me."

"Then why you drinking it?" Pete asked with a grin.

"Because I'm hoping I'm wrong." Clark muttered.

Pete caught on to his somewhat less than talkative mood and let him drink in peace.

By the time Clark was on his third glass he actually thought he might be starting to feel something. It wasn't the euphoria he was hoping for, but the pain in his chest seemed to ease back just a bit. Well, it was better than nothing. He filled his glass again.

He tried not to groan in irritation as he spotted Lana heading for him. He'd done so well avoiding being caught alone with her, but apparently his luck had run out.

"Oh... hey, I'll talk to you later." Pete said quickly.

"Traitor." Clark muttered with dark amusement.

Pete just flashed him a grin and 'wandered' quickly away.

"Hey, Clark." Lana said a bit uneasily as she came to a stop before him.

"Hi, Lana." Clark said, walking a bit away from the keg as a couple more people came up the get refills. She, unfortunately, followed.

"So, how's your new friend doing?" She asked.

"Who?" He asked, furrowing his brow.

"Um... the redhead you were making out with just a couple of hours ago?" Lana said mirthfully, though there was an ever so slight edge to her laugh that made it obvious she hadn't liked seeing that.

Clark shrugged. "Ok as far as I know. She stayed after I left, so you've seen her more recently than I have. I just met her. It's not like we're texting each other and chatting incessantly on the phone."

She bobbed her head. "Right." She muttered. There was a somewhat awkward feeling silence between them, then she said, "Listen, you don't have to avoid me. Chloe explained about last Friday. And... you know... since then." She said.

He nodded, "Ya, she told me."

She paused, and he suspected she was waiting for some kind of apology, but if she was, she was out of luck. He just gazed at her evenly.

"And... I mean I can see why you kept up the act." She said when it became obvious he wasn't going to comment further, "It seems kind of silly, really. Anyone thinking you wrote that. To be honest, I didn't even think it was all that great of an article. Certainly not worth all the fuss! People are still wearing those buttons! And I even saw a girl wearing a t-shirt with that alien picture on it the other day! You'd think they would be over it by now. I mean it was just the ramblings of a sexually confused boy who obviously needs some serious psychological counseling ."

"Like _you_ can talk!" Clark muttered.

"What was that?" She asked.

"Nothing." He said, polishing off his beer and thinking about heading back for another. Lana was totally killing any benefit he was getting from it.

"You know... if you wanted someone to pretend to be your girlfriend to try to prove you weren't that alien guy, you could have always asked _me_." She said a bit leadingly.

He gave a snort. "First off, I didn't _ask_ Chloe to do that. She just did it. Second of all, I would never have even kissed you, let alone pretended to go out with you."

She blinked those overly large eyes at him, "Why not?" She asked, looking a bit irritated.

"Listen, it's just never going to happen, Lana." He said, fed up with her constant emotional about-faces, "You always have been, and always will be a _princess_." Ok, perhaps the beer was affecting him more than he realized, but this felt very, _very_ good, so he didn't bother trying to stop himself, "I'm no prince. I'm never going to be what you want. You want someone who _needs_ you... who will be dedicated heart and soul to you and _only_ you. I can't do that. It's just not the way I'm made. There will always be secrets I can never tell you, priorities in my life that aren't related to _you_. We are _never_ going to be 'together'. Yes, I like Chloe. She's a very good kisser, but we're just friends as well. One of the best things about her is that she _realizes_ that! Perhaps we seem closer than you and I do... That's probably because we _are_. She understands and accepts things about me that you quite obviously never will."

"You make me sound like a shallow bitch." Lana said irritably.

Clark just sighed, "You can be sometimes."

Her jaw dropped in indignation. "Well you're pretty high on yourself, aren't you? What makes you think I even _want_ you?" She shot back.

"Perhaps the 'you cheating bastard' look you get when I so much as smile at anyone else?" he offered.

"Oh please! You're the one who's practically been stalking me since we were kids!"

"You're my _friend_, Lana. I care about you, so I try to look out for you. I admit, I was infatuated with you when we were kids, and it lingered into my teens... I thought I loved you... but it was just a crush. I didn't know what real love felt like back then. It's a hundred times stronger than anything I ever felt for you."

He stopped there, suddenly realizing what he'd just said. The truth of it stabbed into him viciously.

He was in love with Lex.

He'd been able to delude himself into denying it before... but now that he'd unconsciously admitted it, he couldn't seem make himself deny it anymore.

Lana slapped him across the face and stormed off, but he only vaguely noticed it. It's not like the pathetic little gesture even hurt. He found himself wandering over to the keg and refilling his cup.

"Man, what did you say to _her?_"

Clark looked over, seeing Tommy standing beside him, watching Lana disappear between the parked cars. Clark gave a little shrug. "Just trying to get it through to her that we're just friends. I probably could have phrased it better." He admitted. "She'll get over it."

"Man, you're just having to beat them off with a stick, aren't you? What's your secret?" Tommy said with admiration.

Clark let out a breath. "If I had a secret when it came to girls, they wouldn't keep storming off in a snit... let alone smacking me first!"

Tommy shifted a bit, "I saw you with that hot redhead at the Talon. She certainly didn't leave mad."

Clark just gave his shoulder another little half shrug. "Well, yes she's hot, _obviously_... but she's a little old for me, not to mention a little more open and... um... 'friendly' than I'm used to."

Tommy nodded his head distractedly, taking a little sip of beer from his cup. Clark noticed he had one of the alien pins on his jacket. He was surprised at first, but then he realized the article probably would have resonated with Tommy. He'd had to deal with trying to hide the fact that his father was an alcoholic most of his life. He still remembered when they had been in grade school and the other kids took to teasing him for it. He'd withdrawn and barely spoken the entire school year. Luckily, the biggest instigator of the teasing had moved away that summer, and the other kids had lost interest, so he'd eventually come back out of his shell. It'd been hard enough just to watch... Clark didn't want to know what it would have been like to live through.

"So... umm... Sullivan didn't seem all that upset when you were making out with the redhead." Tommy said, keeping his voice casual.

The reason for Tommy's sudden chattiness started becoming clear, despite the light fog that had started creeping into Clark's brain. The very carefully conversational questioning and the way he wasn't looking at Clark, along with the glances he'd seen Tommy giving Chloe in the hallways at school made his real question pretty apparent. "Ya, well I absolutely adore Chloe. She is such an amazing girl... and one of the closest friends I've ever had. But... sometimes when you try to make something like that something _more_, it ends up making it _less_."

Tommy looked over at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"We're much better friends than lovers. We don't want to mess with a good thing. You know what I mean?"

"Um..." Tommy said, glancing over at Chloe, then back at Clark.

It was obvious he got it, but he'd like it spelled out for him just to be sure, so Clark obliged. "We're not together anymore. We're just very good friends, and that's all we'll ever be. We realized it a bit ago, but with that," he said, reaching over and lightly tapping Tommy's pin, "Chloe said we should wait a bit before making it official. Everyone's so quick to think guys are gay if they aren't seeing anyone, you know?"

Tommy nodded, "I've gotten a number of gay jokes thrown at me just for wearing the pin."

Clark nodded, "I can imagine. Still, I think the speculation's died down enough now. There's no point in keeping it up any longer, otherwise people are going to be starting rumors that I'm cheating on her or something after the thing with the redhead. Besides, I've gotten the feeling she's been wanting to move on, too. I notice she's been smiling at you an awful lot lately."

Tommy's eyes widened and darted over to him. "Hey, man, I never...!" He stammered quickly.

Clark held up his hand. "Like I said, she's my friend, not my girlfriend. I want her to be happy. If you want to take a shot, go for it."

"You... you're really cool with that?" Tommy asked sceptically.

"Completely." Clark replied without hesitation, "And you can tell her I said I was. Just one thing, though... you hurt her and you'll have me to deal with, got it?"

Tommy straightened a bit, then nodded. "Got it." He replied seriously. He then turned, starting towards Chloe.

"Oh, by the way." Clark called after him.

Tommy turned, looking back curiously.

"Tell her I'm catching a ride home with Pete."

Tommy nodded again, then went on.

Not that he was really going to bother Pete for a ride. He'd just walk home. He just didn't want her feeling obliged to take him home. He wasn't sure he was going to stick around much longer and didn't want to make her leave early. Clark took a drink, watching the boy sidle up to Chloe. Tommy took a bracing drink from his cup before tapping her shoulder and catching her attention.

"Oh... hi, Tommy." Chloe said in surprise.

"Hey." Tommy said, almost sounding a bit nervous. "Having fun?"

Chloe gave a little snort. "About as much fun as you can have while standing around in the cold, watching your classmates get drunk while listening to crappy music."

He chuckled, "Ya. I think the beer is supposed to help improve the music."

"Ya, well the beer tastes like crap too, so I don't see how it's helping anything."

"Then why are you drinking it?"

"I'm not." She said, then leaned a bit closer and whispered, "But if I put it down I'll have to deal with people trying to give me another beer, and if I refuse I'll look like a prude."

"Ah." He said, nodding. "This is my first beer, too. I don't really like to drink."

She opened her mouth to ask why, but then closed it again when she remembered who his father was and realized what a stupid question that was. She wouldn't want to touch liquor if alcoholism ran in her family either.

"You know, you should make it at least look like you're drinking." He said, nodding towards her glass, which was still nearly full. "Here." He said, switching her glass for his half empty one.

"Thanks." She said. She could have just dumped some of it out in the grass, but he was obviously trying to be chivalrous, so she let him.

There was a somewhat awkward pause after that. He took a drink from her beer (actually it was more like a small gulp since he was still a bit nervous), then grimaced. "This _is_ pretty awful. It's really better cold. Not much, though. Next time I'll have to remember to bring some cream soda. In the dark no one would know the difference."

"Ya." She said with amusement, "That would have been a good idea."

There was another somewhat awkward silence as they watched a couple of their classmates spinning around way too wildly for even the rather chaotic music spewing out of the boom box someone had brought. Chloe caught Tommy watching her, but he quickly darted his eyes back away, taking another drink to cover, followed by another grimace.

The two dancers tripped and sprawled onto the ground, then the boy rolled over onto his stomach and threw up while the others all laughed. Chloe saw Tommy reach his glass out and pour out some, leaving only about a third of a glass, then he brought it back, keeping it far away from his mouth. She grinned.

"So..." Tommy said after another moment, "Not that the floor show isn't entertaining... but you think you might want to go somewhere and talk? It's a bit noisy here..."

She looked over at him in surprise. He was trying to look confident, but even in the flickering light he could see he was obviously nervous. "Oh... Um..." God how she'd love to! "I don't know..." She forced herself to say.

"Um... Clark's ok with it, if that's what you're worried about." He offered quickly.

She blinked in surprise. She looked past him, over to where she'd last seen Clark. He was standing there, all by himself with a beer in his hand. He saw her gaze and flashed her a little smile and gave her a thumbs up.

She blushed, but grinned. The whole 'breaking up' thing really had been for Clark's benefit, considering how much he was obviously drawn to Terri... but she couldn't deny that she'd been kind of interested in getting to know Tommy a bit better now that he'd actually noticed she existed. She flashed Clark a smile, then gave Tommy a little nod. "Ok."

"Cool." Tommy said, beaming and tilting his head a bit to the side, then leading her off, away from prying eyes.

Clark just watched them go. At least Tommy was tactful enough not to slip his arm around her or otherwise paw her where people could see so soon after their 'break up'. Even in the dim light of the bonfire he could see her cheeks flush as she grinned, her eyes sparkling happily as they made their way away from the crowd.

Clark took a deep breath and sighed it out. At least someone could be happy tonight. Tommy seemed like a really nice guy. If she liked him, she deserved him. Still, he was glad he didn't have to watch it. Not that he was jealous. He'd told the truth. He wanted her to be happy... he just didn't really want to be around happy people right now. Not to mention him standing around watching would surely have gotten tongues wagging.

He looked over and spotted a couple not too far away making out quite passionately, apparently unconcerned with the fact that they were in plain sight. The aching pain in Clark's heart flared up once more, so he walked away from the bonfire, not wanting to have to keep his face composed to keep others from seeing his pain. They would surely misinterpret it if they saw it. Not that he cared a whole lot, but Chloe shouldn't have to catch flak for his mood swings. And it didn't help that the flickering light of the flames was starting to make his head hurt. Or maybe that was the beer. He didn't think that was supposed to start until the next morning, but he was certainly no expert. Besides, his head didn't hurt nearly as bad as his chest did.

As the pain in his heart burned ever brighter, he found his feet taking him towards the lake, though the queasiness in his stomach increased with every step. He couldn't believe Lex was getting married! Elise seemed like a nice girl, but...

He reached the shore and turned, walking along the gravely beach. He tried to drink some more of the beer, but the meteor rock had him too queasy by this point to even try to finish it. He stumbled a couple of times, but that was probably just a combination of the alcohol, darkness and his proximity to meteor rocks. He even had to dodge to the side now and then, avoiding larger rocks with some crystals embedded in them. There had been a lot of shrapnel all around when that meteor had crashed down here, but luckily most of the smaller fragments, and especially the loose crystals, had been scavenged by souvenir seekers over the years.

He knew it was insanely stupid to be this close to the lake, but he didn't care. The starting aches of physical pain overrode his emotional pain a bit, as he knew it would. If only it worked a bit better. His heart still ached angrily. His mind kept wandering back to Lex... to speculations of what he was doing with that girl right now. Laying her down in the same bed they had shared, having sex with her. Did he like making love to her as much as he had with Clark? Well, he was marrying her, wasn't he? She'd probably washed all thoughts of Clark out of Lex's head by now.

God, that thought stabbed through him. Lex had had countless lovers before him, and he seemed quite capable of forgetting all about them when they were gone. Would it be the same with him? Would he become just one more forgotten lover?

He reached the foot of the pier that extended out into the water and stepped up on it to cross. He paused, looking down the pier. It would be sheer insanity walking out over the water... and yet he set his beer glass on one of the posts and started slowly walking out over the deadly water. The pain increased with every step, aching through his body like vindictive fire in his veins.

He finally made himself stop when he'd nearly reached the end of the pier. The pain was so strong it washed away all thought... yet not quite to the point of incapacitating him. It pushed Lex from his mind so cleanly. He just stood there... almost enjoying the purity of the physical pain. He could feel it sucking the strength from his body, but he was pretty sure he could handle a few more minutes before he'd have to start back to keep from collapsing. He just stood there until he started to waver. Finally, a vague sense of self preservation kicked in and he turned, starting back before it was too late.

He looked up as he realized there was someone standing in front of him, blocking the way. It was dark, the moon currently hidden behind a bank of thick clouds, but he thought he could make out a letterman jacket.

"Well, hello there, Kent."

Clark shut his eyes. Oh, great. It was Jenkins. He'd know that self important sneer anywhere. Clark tried to walk past him, but the boy grabbed his arm, shoving him back towards the end of the pier. Clark went sprawling, but quickly tried to regain his feet. He struggled, managing to get up onto his knees, but couldn't quite make it back to his feet.

"I see those little party favors I slipped in your beer are finally kicking in." He said as he came to a stop, gazing down at Clark, obviously enjoying seeing him struggle.

"Why... why would you..." Clark gasped, trying to force out words.

"Did you tell the sheriff I was the one driving?"

Clark shook his head, though it made him rather dizzy.

"Ya, well you're a goody two shoes. You're probably planning on telling, aren't you?" He growled.

"Didn't... tell... about... scarecrow... did I?" Clark gasped, his vision starting to dim. If he didn't get away from this lake soon he was dead and he knew it.

Jenkins chuckled. "Guess not. Still... I was planning this since before that nasty little accident you nearly caused. I planned this whole fucking party just to get my hands on you!"

Anger flickered in Clark at the implication it had been his fault, but he was too weak for it to last long. "Why?" he managed to force out.

"Don't you think I know it was your little bald headed freak of a boyfriend that fucked up my life?"

"What?" Clark managed, trying to figure out what the Hell he was talking about.

"I leave for fucking military school on Saturday! I thought my parents were just being assholes, but come to find out, LexCorp is funding it! They have to ship me out to keep their fucking jobs!" He grabbed the hair on the back of Clark's head roughly, leaning down to get right in his face. "I may not be able to get through Luthor's security to get at him... but he isn't protecting _you_, now is he?"

"Why... would he care... if you did something... to me?" Clark forced out, wondering how much longer he could possibly stay conscious. He was doubtful whatever drugs he'd been slipped would have been enough to take him down alone, but the meteor rock was doing just as good as any drug could anyway.

Jenkins laughed nastily. "Deny it all you want, but I know you wrote that fucking article. You've been acting like a love-sick freak ever since Luthor took you home with him after the market. Don't try to tell me he wasn't fucking your ass all afternoon. I'm not normally into guys, unlike you and rich boy, but I'm willing to give it a try in this case. If the rich boy who can have any piece of ass he wants is giving you a ride, maybe you're worth a go. Besides, I want to see how he likes it when he finds out I've fucked his little boy-toy. Maybe when I'm done I'll haul you over and find some guys drunk enough to fuck you too. Maybe even drive you over to that biker bar on the edge of town. Bet there's plenty of big, burly bikers that'd love to give that ass of yours a good hard fuck. Let's see if baldie still wants you when he finds out you're all used and dirty."

Clark struggled to get away, but he was too weak to do much of anything by this point. Jenkins was able to keep him up with just one hand gripping Clark's hair, straightening up and using the other to free himself from his jeans. "Come on, Kent." He said, prying Clark's mouth open. "Suck it nice and I might even use some lube when I fuck your ass."

Clark tried to resist, but Jenkins managed to shove himself into Clark's mouth. "Come on! Suck it, bitch!" He chuckled wickedly.

Clark might have been drifting in and out of consciousness by that point, but he wasn't dead yet! He clamped his teeth down as hard as he could.

Jenkins let out a surprised cry of pain, punching him in the side of the head and using his hold on Clark's hair to tear him away.

Clark wished he could have kept a hold, or better yet, been strong enough to sever it, but he wasn't, especially with the flashes of light and wave of vertigo the blow sent through him... though the taste of blood in his mouth was at least a little satisfying. Suddenly Jenkins let go of his hair and backhanded him hard. It spun him and he fell away from his attacker. He heard Jenkins' sudden alarmed cry of "Shit!", felt a hand catch on the collar of his flannel, but he was so limp the cloth just slid off him.

He plunged in to the cold water, then it seemed to suck him down. Pain arched through him, the power of the large meteor rocks below him so strong it made him convulse, forcing the remaining air from his lungs. Water rushed in to replace it as his muscles gave in and went limp. All remaining fight quickly left him. The pain seemed to burn out inside him, overwhelming his nerves until they couldn't feel anymore. Even his thoughts had become vague. Somewhere deep in his mind he came to the realization that this was the end. He felt vague regret... the sadness that his parents and friends would mourn him... but the strongest thought was of Lex... a pang of sorrow that their last words to each other had been so meaningless and distant... and one last fleeting hope that the girl really did love him... and that she'd help Lex forget about him...

He just stared down at the faint green glow as he felt his heartbeat slow...

... Then stop.

- 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 -

A/N – Yes, for those few who haven't figured it out yet, I am an evil sadist :) Hmm... I could just end it there... maybe sum it up with a funeral... a heartbroken Lex filled with regret as they lower the coffin into the ground... then going off and finding solace with Elise and Terri. Maybe he wouldn't even turn out evil in the end. Maybe he'd be a better man, because he would want to be a man that Clark would have been proud of. Oh, and Jonathan could finally realize he was being a huge flaming asshole. Wouldn't that be nice for a change? Maybe Martha would finally realize that too and divorce him. Yes, Jonathan occasionally has his moments... but those are really few and way too far between. Heck, her with Lionel might even be better. Sure Lionel is Satan... but he can be tolerable when he's trying to play nice for her. She makes Lionel a better person. She'd be doing the world a favor if she de-eviled him a little. That scenario certainly has some appeal.

What do you guys think? Seriously. I don't just do whatever my reviewers tell me to or anything, but reviews _have_ been known to sway me in the past, sometimes take the story in directions I hadn't even thought of. Tell me what you like about what I've written, what you'd like to see more of, whatever. I can't promise that I will cater to your wishes... but I guarantee there's no chance of it if I don't even know what those wishes might be. This thing's drawing to a close, no matter which way it goes. Throw in your two bits while you still can!


	9. Nightmares

Chapter 9  
>Nightmares<p>

Lex shot up in bed with a loud gasp, shaking and gasping desperately for air.

"Alexander! Are you alright?" Elise asked, sitting up and reaching out for him.

He just brushed her hand away, ripping off the blanket and staggering to his feet. He stood there a moment, getting his bearings, then lurched over, grabbing up his discarded trousers. He yanked out his phone and dropped down onto the ground, keying desperately through the contact list until he found the right number. He hit send, then waited, trembling and still gasping a bit as it rang.

The answering machine was all that picked up. He hung up without leaving a message. He put his hand on his forehead, thinking desperately, then he remembered.

"Is everything ok?" Elise asked worriedly, crouching down beside him and draping his robe around him.

"God, I hope so." He said, his heart hammering in his chest as he skimmed through his contact list again.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

Chloe felt her heart flutter in her chest as Tommy leaned slowly closer. Her eyes slid closed as his lips caressed hers. They were warm and soft, yet firm. He didn't dive in with the tongue like some guys did, he just kept it almost chaste. The kiss was sweet and absolutely amazing!

When the kiss ended, he stayed close. "God, you're beautiful." He whispered.

Her heart skipped a beat. He seemed content to just stay like that for a while, their skin lightly brushing here and there... but she wanted another taste of those wonderful lips. She closed the little gap between them, feeling his lips warm against hers once more.

Her phone buzzed rudely in her pocket. He broke the kiss, but she shifted forward, resting her forehead against his for a moment before giving in to the inevitable and shifting back. "Sorry." She murmured as she dug the phone out of her pocket. She might only be a school reporter so far, but she still couldn't risk missing an important bit of information or even a whole story just because her hormones were blazing. She looked at her caller id and scowled. "Just a minute." She said in an irritable tone, getting up and walking a few paces away before answering.

"You have a lot of nerve calling me." She grumbled.

"Clark! Is Clark there? I need to talk to Clark." Lex blurted before he could reign himself in.

She blinked in surprise. "What's so urgent?"

"Is he there?" Lex practically yelled.

"Sure, if he hasn't left yet." She said, looking through the gap in the trees to where the bonfire was. "I don't see him. He must have left. He didn't really seem in a partying mood. Well... wait... there's Pete. He said he was going to catch a ride home with him... but maybe he caught a ride with someone else."

"Are you near water?" Lex asked urgently.

"We're at Crater Lake. Well, I am at least." She said, starting to really wonder. He sounded really freaked out. Lex never sounded freaked out.

"Find him!"

"Seriously, what the Hell is going on?"

"I'm sorry." Lex said with obviously forced calm, "I just... I just had a really bad dream, and I wanted to make sure he was alright. I'm sure it's nothing, but I need to know! Call me if you find him. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"You're coming here? Aren't you over reacting a little? It was a dream, Lex. Calm down." Chloe said, though she was starting to get nervous, her eyes darting around worriedly, searching for Clark.

"Check the water." Lex said evenly, then the line went dead.

Chloe stared at the phone for a moment, a very scary feeling going through her. It was just a stupid dream. She kept telling herself that... but there was another little voice in her head telling her to take one look at the wall of weird and try to rule the possibility out in Smallville.

"You ok?" Tommy asked, getting up and coming over to her, looking concerned.

"I'm sorry, I have to do something."

"What?" Tommy asked, hurrying after her as she started her search.

"I have to find Clark." She said quickly, not slowing.

"Um... Clark...?" He asked uncertainly.

She glanced over at him, seeing his hesitance. "It's kind of a family emergency. He doesn't have a cell on him, so I got the call."

"Oh. Ya, ok, I'll start asking around." He said quickly.

She hurried over to Pete. "Hey, Pete! Have you seen Clark?"

Pete looked over at her in surprise, then looked around, "Not in a while." He said, "Maybe he went home."

"He told Tommy he was catching a ride home with you."

Pete furrowed his brow. "He never said anything to me. Maybe he just walked home. What's up?"

Chloe took a deep breath, then let it out, "It's probably nothing, but I really want to find him."

"Alright... fair enough..." He said, though he obviously suspected there was more to it. "Let's ask around."

She nodded and they went around, asking anyone who was still sober enough to be coherent, but no one had see him in a while. One girl told Chloe she thought she saw him walking down towards the lake.

That sent a shot of fear through Chloe. No, this was stupid. It was just a stupid dream.

"Well?" Pete asked as he came back over, "No one I talked to has seen him since he was hanging around the keg. You find out anything?"

"A girl said she thought she saw him heading down towards the lake." Chloe said.

"Oh, trust me," Pete said confidently, "Clark wouldn't go down by that lake."

"Why not?" Chloe asked, looking back at him.

Pete's smile faltered, then hitched back into place, "Do I really have to remind you about Sean Kelvin? Ever since he fell in that lake and went all meteor freak, smart people figured out that lake isn't a safe place to be. Even these drunken idiots won't get that close to it anymore! Clark's not stupid. He wouldn't go near that water. He's probably at home as we speak."

"I've been calling his number. No one's answering." Chloe replied.

"Well then he's on the way home. He's probably walking. He likes walking. Or maybe he's just in the loft. He said something about sleeping out there a lot lately, and there's no phone out there. I tell you what... I'll drive to his place. I'm sure I'll find him."

"Ok. Sure. Fine. That'd be great. I'll stay here and check out the lake. Call me if you find him." Chloe said quickly, starting to feel a bit antsy. She couldn't help but feel she had to find him fast or something terrible would happen to him. They parted ways, Pete heading off towards his car while Chloe headed towards the lake.

She knew it was ridiculous to get all worked up over a silly dream... so why was she finding herself hurrying? She slowed once she was away from the fire. She hadn't realized how dark the night had gotten.

"Chloe! Hold up!"

She spun around, seeing a light bobbing towards her. She held up her hand to block the glare and saw it was Tommy. He reached her and came to a stop.

"He probably just took a walk around the lake." He said reasonably, "I've got three flashlights. You want the big one? It's a little heavy and not always reliable, but it's the brightest by far."

"Yes!" She said, seizing the big, boxy flashlight.

"Ok, then here, take this one too." He said, handing her the smallest flashlight as well. "It's kinda dim, but if the big one gives out it'll help you find your way back through the dark at least. Why don't you go around that way and I'll go this way?" He said, pointing.

She stepped suddenly up to him and gave him a kiss. He was surprised, but eagerly returned it. She flashed him a smile when she backed up.

He was grinning, his cheeks looking a bit flush in the indirect light of the flashlight. "We'll definitely have to continue that conversation later!" He said, darting in and giving her another peck on the lips before turning on his flashlight and hurrying off.

Oh, man! If she wasn't borderline freaked out right now, she'd have been floating!

She hurried along the lake, fanning her large flashlight back and forth, searching. "Clark?" She called out, "Clark, you out there?"

The further around the lake she got, the more freaked out she got. She was getting a sick feeling in her stomach, and everything was starting to get that unreal, nightmare-like feel to it. She kept calling his name and swinging the flashlight back and forth, but there was no sign of him. She just wished she could find him already so she could laugh it off and chide herself for taking a silly dream so seriously. She spun around suddenly as she heard something. There were two bright lights approaching. It took her a moment to realize it was headlights. The car was fishtailing a bit, making its way down the access road that was little more than an oversized gravel path running past the lake. It was going far too fast for such a driving surface. Obviously it must be Lex, though he had to have been doing over a hundred on the highway to have made it there so quick. Chloe couldn't help but cringe a bit at the sound as it approached. The engine purred, though it was revving, but what made her cringe was the sound of the loose gravel hitting the sides of the car. That had to be absolutely destroying the paint job!

He obviously spotted her, veering off the 'road' and doing a bit of a hockey stop, shooting a considerable amount of gravel out like a small wave (though luckily not aimed at Chloe!). When the driver's door sprang open a split second later, Chloe was surprised to see Lex pop out dressed in nothing but what looked like pajama bottoms, slip-on shoes and a robe. Elise got out of the other side of the car a bit slower, then stood there uncertainly. She didn't appear to be much better dressed.

"Have you found him?" Lex called as he actually ran over to her.

"No." She said, a bit startled. "Someone said they saw him heading towards the lake a bit ago, but no one else has seen him. Pete is driving out to the farm in case he's walking home or just not answering the phone. I've been checking around the lake. A... uh... friend went the other way so we wouldn't miss him," She said, glancing across the lake, seeing Tommy's flashlight still moving along, sweeping back and forth methodically. "It doesn't look like he's found anything either."

"I said check the _water_, not the _shore_." He snapped, grabbing the flashlight from her hand. "Where's the pier?"

"Um... there's one just ahead I think." Chloe said, getting a bit frightened by his intensity.

Lex ran off in that direction and Chloe had to quickly take out the backup flashlight and hurry after him. Clouds had moved in, obscuring what little moonlight there was, so it was almost black as pitch. She could see the light bobbing ahead of her. It was fanning the surface of the lake, though how he managed to move forward so quickly without pointing the light at the ground before him was beyond her. She had to keep looking down to keep from snapping an ankle on the rough terrain. Even with the light she found herself stumbling every few yards or so.

"Clark!"

The sudden fear and urgency in Lex's voice sent a shot of ice through Chloe's veins. That wasn't the sound of someone searching. That was the sound of someone finding something. Something bad. The light ahead disappeared. She ran towards where she'd last seen it. She tripped and fell, but her desperation to get to Clark drove her to clamber back up. She probably got hurt, but if she did, she couldn't even feel it. As she got closer she saw that the flashlight hadn't gone out, it had been dropped. When she reached it, she paused to snatch it up, then looked around in confusion. No one was there. She saw something up ahead and hurried towards it. Her eyes widened as she shone the light on it and found herself staring at Lex's robe laying discarded on the ground. Why would he...?

Suddenly there was the sound up ahead of bare feet pounding across aged wood, then a loud splash.

Forgetting about the robe, Chloe ran towards the sound. Her flashlight briefly illuminated one of Lex's shoes, then the beginning of a pier. She swept the flashlight down the pier, then sprinted to the end of it so fast she nearly skidded over the edge into the water. She snatched up the little pile of plaid material laying at the end of the pier, praying it wouldn't be what she thought it was... but it was. It was Clark's plaid shirt. The one he'd been wearing when she last saw him. She heard some splashing and quickly fanned the light over the water. She knew it was too cold and dark for any sane person to be taking a leisurely dip in the lake, but she prayed.

She located the source of the splashing in short order. A pale, bald head slipping through the water towards her... with someone in tow. Jet black hair and skin that looked almost paler than Lex's. "Clark!" Chloe sobbed desperately.

Lex didn't go to the pier, but instead headed straight for shore. Once he hit shallow enough water to get his footing, he shifted Clark's limp form around from a lifeguard towing hold to the front of him, getting his arms under him and lifting him out of the water, carrying him. Perhaps it was adrenaline, but Lex didn't seem to have any trouble carrying Clark, though Clark was easily bigger than him.

Chloe ran over to meet them as they reached the shore. Lex hurried to where the ground was still firm, despite the recent rains, then lay Clark down quickly but gently and started checking him.

Chloe knelt beside Clark, reaching out and touching him. He was cold to the touch, and she could find no heartbeat, his chest utterly still. His skin almost looked grey with darker lines spiderwebbing across it for some bizarre reason, but by far the most terrifying thing was his eyes. They were open, the pupils fixed and dilated. She shone the light into them, but there was no change at all.

Lex ignored that. He stubbornly started CPR, despite how futile it obviously was.

Chloe couldn't help it. She broke down and sobbed. This couldn't possibly really be happening! Clark could NOT be dead! Nothing hurt Clark. She'd seen him escape certain death so many times there is no possibly way he could die like this... falling into a fucking lake and drowning! That's how little kids and old people died... not Clark! This was all just a horrible nightmare! That had to be it! That was the only possible explanation.

Chloe watched Clark's eyes, so dark and empty, the only movement caused by Lex's continued attempts to revive him. Lex just kept going. Chloe finally pulled her eyes from Clark's lifeless body and looked at Lex. What she saw broke her heart all over again. Tears were streaming down Lex's cheeks, and there was a burning agony in his eyes far beyond what she could even imagine. She could see the desperation in him, the need even stronger than her own to make this not be real.

It had been at least five minutes, and still Lex pounded away at Clark's chest, blew air into his cold, lifeless lips... and nothing.

"Lex..." She said achingly when she couldn't stand watching it anymore.

He ignored her.

"Lex..." She said louder, reaching out and touching his arm.

He just batted her hand away and kept right on going.

"Lex, he's gone." Chloe said, her voice little more than a sob.

"No." Lex said stubbornly.

She put her hands on top of his.

Lex let out a pained breath that was the closest thing to a sob she'd ever heard him make. His movements slowed, then stopped as he hung his head. She slipped her hands away, not sure what to do as he sat there, his shoulders shaking as he cried in absolute silence. He slowly reached down and slipped his arms around Clark, then lifted him up and held him to him. After a moment he shifted Clark back, then gently closed his eyes.

Chloe was crying so hard she had to keep blinking to try to clear her blurry eyes. She looked away as Lex leaned down and kissed Clark's lips. She just stared at the little patch of dirt her flashlight illuminated, feeling completely disconnected... like nothing was real anymore.

She was vaguely aware of Lex gently setting Clark back down... of the sound of someone approaching... of someone's voice... Pete. Lex was shoved aside, but he allowed it. He just moved aside as Pete grabbed Clark, shaking him, trying to wake him up. Chloe closed her eyes, willing herself to wake up from this nightmare, but it didn't seem to be working. She felt someone take hold of the flannel shirt she hadn't even realized she was still holding. She let it go automatically.

Her eyes opened and she blinked away the tears. She shifted her gaze pointedly away from Pete and Clark, and saw Lex walking away, back towards the lake. It made her brain start moving again, though it was still painfully sluggish. She should call someone. She knew there was nothing even trained paramedics could do for Clark, but the police had to be called. She fumbled around, searching for her phone.

Lex walked over to the shore and looked out over the water. The sparse light of the moon peeked through and glimmered here and there on the black surface. He looked down, using the pale moonlight to look around. He walked over and spread the flannel out onto the rocky shore, then took a large chunk of rock and placed it in the middle.

Pete let go of Clark and got up, going over to Lex. "This is your fault!" Pete spat tearfully, "I don't know how yet, but I know it was your fault!"

"Yes." Lex just replied calmly, "I know it is." He drew the edges of the shirt in and buttoned it up around the rock.

"You're the worst thing that ever happened to him!" Pete said, venting his pain and anger.

Lex just nodded as he roughly tied the bottom of the shirt to keep it in. He stood, carefully lifting the shirt by the sleeves, making sure the knots would hold the weight, then started for the pier, tying the ends of the sleeves together.

Pete blinked away his tears, "What are you doing?"

"Just go back to Clark." Lex said evenly, "Take care of him." He said as he slipped the makeshift strap over his head, slipping his arm through as well so it fit snugly to make sure it wouldn't slip off as he stepped up onto the weathered wood.

As Lex stepped up onto the old pier, Pete suddenly realized what he was doing. "Shit!" He said, running over and grabbing Lex's arm and jerking him around. "What the Hell you think you're doing?"

"Just walk away." Lex hissed, jerking his arm out of Pete's grasp. "Just turn around and walk away and you'll finally get what you've wanted since the day you met me. That'll be nice, won't it? Something good will come out of this nightmare!" He said, his voice laced with pain and dark sarcasm.

"I... I never wanted you dead, man." Pete whispered. "This is crazy! I didn't mean it..."

"Whether you did or not, it was true." Lex said, his voice tight.

"You can't do this! Listen, I cared about him just as much as you did." Pete said placatingly.

"No, you didn't!" Lex hissed. He grabbed a hold of Pete's shirt and jerked him closer, "Did you ever look into those innocent blue eyes and feel like nothing would ever be the same? Did you see him smile and realize that you loved him more than you should be capable of loving another human being? Ever kissed his lips and known without a doubt that a life without him in it _wasn't worth living?"_

Pete just stared at him, completely thunderstruck by the raw pain and honesty in Lex's eyes.

Lex looked away, trying to hide his pain, "Tell Elise I already changed my will." He whispered hoarsely, "She'll be taken care of." he let go of Pete's shirt and turned towards the end of the pier once more.

Pete stood there, frozen. He knew he should stop him, knew Clark would never want Lex to take his own life... but the raw, burning pain that radiated off Lex... how could he make someone live with that inside them?

"Tell her..." Lex said softly, obviously having a hard time deciding what he could possibly say that would justify this.

"Tell me what?" A soft, quaver voice called.

His head darted around as he noticed the thin, pale shadow drawing closer.

"Elise!" Lex said achingly, "I told you to wait in the car!"

"Like Hell!" She said stubbornly, hurrying up to him, "Just what do you think you're doing?" She asked, planting herself firmly in his way.

"Nothing. Just go back to the car!" Lex said, trying to avert his gaze, but she was so close she was pretty much unavoidable.

"What did you want him to tell me?" She persisted.

He took a deep breath, then sighed it out. "That I'm sorry. Now go."

"I'm not going to let you walk off that pier!" She said, her voice getting a bit tearful.

He blinked in surprise, then he pulled his gaze away from hers. "You wouldn't understand."

"Yes, I would. I was watching. I know what happened, and I know how much he meant to you... but you can't do this, Lex. Please!" She pleaded, "I don't want your damn money! I want you! I'm sorry your best friend died... but please don't kill mine!" She said tearfully, wrapping her arms around his chest and clinging to him with an air of desperation.

Elise winced slightly when he tried to move away from her, but didn't let up. Lex shifted the shirt clad rock away from her arm. Even in the very dim light he spotted the dark lines on the thin, white cloth of her robe. When the darkness started quickly spreading and dripping down her arm it became apparent the rock had cut her. He put his hand under the rock to keep the obviously sharp edge from cutting her again, then tensed. He pulled the shirt back off and pushed Elise back. Since he'd taken off the rock she let him, but watched him warily. Lex quickly pulled the shirt open, popping off a button or two in his haste. He pulled the rock out and looked it over quickly. He found the sharp points, and with a few strokes of his fingers managed to dislodge enough of the caked dirt on it to reveal a small crystal cluster.

"Do any of you have your cellphones with you?" Chloe called over in a quavering voice, still staring and poking at her phone, obviously having missed the whole conversation. "Mine can never get a signal this close to the lake."

Lex just stood there for a moment, his eyes going wide, then he let out a sharp breath and dropped the rock. It landed with a loud thunk on the pier.

Pete suddenly found Lex right in front of him. The man grabbed the front of his shirt and jerked him forward a bit, "What does green do?" He snapped, his expression frighteningly focused and intense.

"What?" Pete sputtered.

"Answer the fucking question, Ross! I know meteor rocks effect him. I've seen what red does. He told me you knew, so don't play stupid! Not now! _What does green do?" _Lex snapped.

"It... it hurt him, drained his strength." Pete sputtered. It's not like the secret mattered now that Clark was dead.

"We've got to get him away from the lake!" Lex said hurriedly, releasing Pete and dashing back over to Clark.

"He's gone, man." Pete said sadly, "He's dead."

Lex ignored him. He skidded to a stop beside Clark and scooped him up, then without another word, started running away from the lake.

"What's he doing?" Chloe asked a bit dazedly.

"Being an idiot." Pete said grimly, grabbing up the flashlight and running after him. "You guys stay here!" He called back, then he focused on finding Lex. He was running through the little patch of wooded area between the lake and the access road like a mad man. Pete couldn't believe he could even lift Clark, let alone outdistance him so easily while carrying him and running pretty much blind.

"You're gonna break your neck, Luthor. This is crazy!" Pete called after him.

"Just shut up and light the way!" Lex yelled back.

Pete shifted the light up, trying to aim it so he could see, though the light bobbed around like a cork on a storm tossed sea despite his best efforts. They had gotten nearly to the access road when the light suddenly flickered out. Pete stumbled to a halt, coming up hard against a tree to keep from stumbling and falling. He shook the light, then smacked it a couple of times. It flickered dimly. He smacked it again, then heard something up ahead that was unmistakably to sound of Lex tripping and crashing to the ground.

He whacked the flashlight hard against the tree in desperation... and it turned back on! He hurried in the direction of the sound. He could see them both sprawled out on the ground ahead, just past a thick, fallen branch that Lex had obviously tripped over in the dark.

He ran up to Lex. The man seemed a bit stunned, but got up onto his knees shakily. The light of the flashlight picked up the little gash on the side of his head that was bleeding, but he just shook it off, crawling quickly over to Clark, who was sprawled face down on the gravel.

Lex reached for him, then froze as he heard a soft sound. He reached out blindly behind him until he managed to grab hold of the flashlight. Pete let him take it. He pointed it down at Clark's face. There was a little patch of gravel that looked a bit darker near his mouth. As he watched incredulously, a little trickle of water dribbled from Clark's lips, accompanied by a ever so soft gurgling sound.

With a shaking hand, he quickly reached over, pressing and rubbing at Clark's back. There was a weak coughing sound, followed by a sudden gush of water, then a shallow gasp.

Lex let out a sudden incredulous, almost unhinged sounding laugh, then quickly set aside the flashlight and started massaging Clark's back. Clark got out another couple of little spurts of water, but then seemed to be done. Lex gently turned him over, pulling him into his arms and staring down at him.

Clark's eyes fluttered a bit, then slowly slid open. Pete stared down at him, in utter shock as his pupils slowly contracted from the light. He dropped to his knees beside him, just staring incredulously. "Clark?" He asked in a soft, stunned voice.

Clark's eyes tracked slowly over to him, then seemed to focus. "Pete..." Clark breathed.

"That was some serious Lazarus kinda shit! You totally freaked us out, man!" Pete laughed, close to crying with relief.

"You're alive..." Lex said achingly, sounding once again like he was on the verge of sobbing, though for a very different reason this time.

Clark's eyes tracked over to him a bit faster. "Lex..." He said, still whisper soft, his voice catching a bit in his throat. His hand twitched. He managed to shift it over a few inches, his fingers curling weakly around Lex's arm.

Lex shifted him closer, hugging him desperately to him. Clark pressed into him as best he could, then gave a little shudder.

"Cold..." He muttered, almost too softly for Lex to hear.

Lex looked up quickly. "Go find my robe! I dropped it near the pier. We need to get him warmed up!"

Pete quickly nodded, then got up. He didn't want to take their only source of light, so he took the crappy little pin-light he'd brought from his car back out. It barely cast any light, but it was all he had, and it worked well enough to make it back. Chloe was still sitting there, staring down at her useless phone. Elise was crouched in front of her, her hand on Chloe's shoulder.

"He's alive!" Pete blurted breathlessly as he came to a stop in front of them.

Chloe looked up at him, blinking slowly. "What?" She asked, sounding lost.

"Clark! He's alive! He started breathing again. He even woke up! He's with Lex on the other side of those trees there! I need to find a robe or something Lex said he left back here." He said, trying to scan around with his little pin light.

"Oh, thank God!" Elise sighed with immense relief, "Here." she said, taking the spare flashlight from where Chloe had stuck it in her pocket and handing it to him. "I think I saw his robe just over there." She said, pointing.

"Thanks!" Pete said, flicking on the flashlight. It wasn't great, but it was better than the one he had. He hurried over and found it. It looked like a thick terry cloth bathrobe. He just shrugged and hurried back with it. Chloe was still just sitting there.

"Yo, Chloe! What are you waiting for?" Pete said, furrowing his brow, "I'm not lying. I promise. He's alive."

Chloe just blinked, looking like she wasn't sure what she should be doing.

"This girl is drugged." Elise said, passing Pete's pen light in a slow, sweeping motion in front of Chloe's eyes. Chloe's eyes tracked the light a bit jerkily.

"What?" Pete asked, shocked, "No way!"

"Did you take something?" Elise asked Chloe gently as she handed Pete his little light back.

Chloe shook her head, though the motion was slow and jerky.

"Did you eat or drink anything someone else gave you at that party?" She prodded softly.

"Just... just a beer..." Chloe said a bit dazedly. "And I only drank a drink or two. It tasted bad. Tommy traded me beers. He didn't like it either. I didn't try his. Beer sucks." she concluded thoughtfully.

Elise glanced worriedly at Pete, then back to Chloe. "Where is Tommy?"

Chloe shifted her gaze slowly over to the lake, "He's helping me look around the lake. Clark's missing." She dragged her eyes back over to Elise, "Have you seen Clark?"

"Yes. We found him. He's ok now." Elise said, making sure Chloe seemed to understand her.

Chloe smiled, then went back to poking at her phone, looking as if she was trying to remember what she was supposed to be doing with it.

"Man!" Pete breathed incredulously, "And I thought my brother was just being paranoid when he always insisted I bring my own drinks to parties like this and never let them out of my sight. Who would do that?"

Elise shook her head as she got up. "I don't know. I can't believe people would do something like this _here_ of all places! You'd think you would be safe in such a small town." She shook her head again, then brushed it off, hurrying over to the pier, then out on to it, turning slowly as she scanned around the shore. Suddenly she stopped. "I think I see him. There's a light about a hundred meters down the shore. It's not moving." She hurried back to the shore. "I'll try to find her friend. You go get that robe to Clark before he gets hypothermia, then go get a car. Lex's will only seat two, but I think Chloe has one. She probably has the keys on her."

"Her car's tiny. I'll get mine. It's not pretty, but at least it's got a full sized back seat." Pete said, flipping the flashlight around and holding it out to her.

"Thanks." She said, accepting it.

"What about her?" Pete asked, looking down at Chloe worriedly.

"I really doubt she's going anywhere unless we take her there." Elise assured him.

"Ok..." Pete conceded grudgingly. He headed for Clark, but cast one more worried glance back at Chloe as he reached the tree line. She was still sitting there, motionless, staring down at the little screen of her phone as if it were fascinating. He sighed. One crises at a time. He just hoped Clark wasn't going to be pissed at him for telling Lex what green meteor rock did to him. Then again, if he hadn't told Lex, Clark might really be dead now. Maybe he'd somehow managed to survive that long of being 'dead', but he might not have come back if he'd been near that lake much longer. Pete had known what green did, and that the lake was full of it... but never in his wildest dreams had he imagined Clark could come back to life after something like that! He'd been _cold! _Clark seemed to come up with new ways to amaze him every day!

He looked up as he stepped over the fallen tree branch. The sight illuminated by the flashlight hit him, but he managed not to stop. Lex was sitting cross legged, Clark in his lap and half wrapped around him, his face nuzzled contentedly into the hollow of Lex's neck. For his part, Lex was just holding him... looking for all the world as if he was clinging to the most precious thing in existence. Clark looked unconscious once again, but Pete could see that he was breathing deep, even breaths.

Pete came over, putting the robe over Clark and half wrapping it around Lex as well. Lex was sitting there in the chill night air in nothing but a soaking wet pair of pajama bottoms, after all. Lex opened his eyes while Pete was tucking it into place, but then looked away. It was obvious he was worried about what Pete must think about what he'd said. It hadn't mattered to him at the time, since he hadn't planned on being alive for any kind of repercussions, but now the admission was obviously making him uneasy.

When he was done, Pete just crouched there for a moment, staring at them.

Lex steeled himself and gazed back evenly.

"Man..." Pete sighed as he stood back up, "I can't believe he lied to me."

"About what?" Lex asked in surprise.

"He said he didn't write that damn article." Pete said, shaking his head.

"What article?" Lex asked, confused.

"That stupid article everyone's talking about... the one someone 'anonymously' wrote in the school newspaper last week about falling for his best friend. I knew it. I didn't want to believe it, so I let him deny it... but I knew. Damn it! I knew when he would never say the words. He denied it in his round about way, but he'd never come out and say 'no, I didn't write it'. He's never bold faced about it. Round about. Letting you assume things by implying. That's how he lies. I felt it, but I ignored it... because I really wanted to be wrong." Pete shook his head, "It was after that market, wasn't it? Ya..." he sighed, not bothering to wait for Lex's answer, knowing the man probably wouldn't admit to it anyway, "He went all quiet and distracted after that day... then that article gets turned in last wednesday and the next day, _coincidentally_ the day you ran off to God knows where, he's suddenly an emotional train wreck. He's been fighting with his dad and starving himself, not paying attention at school, won't talk about it, even with me... I've even caught him _crying_ a couple of times. Clark! Crying! Once _right in the middle of class!_ Then he went and took a walk by Crater lake! A lake that he knew full well could _kill_ him, and somehow he managed to fall in. You_ really_ messed him up, Luthor."

Lex closed his eyes, ducking his head down and pressing his cheek against Clark's wet hair. "I never meant to." He said in a soft, pained voice.

"Ya, well, you did." Pete said shortly. "And I don't know how, but you better put this right! Because if something like this happens again, I'll tie the rock around your neck for you!"

"He didn't try to kill himself!" Lex said, picking up on the implication, "Someone did this to him!"

"What makes you think that?" Pete asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Because he has a bruise on his cheek. You couldn't really see it when his skin was all ashen near the lake, but now that he's away from it and his normal color has returned you can see it plain as day. It looks like a fist hit him hard. You can even see what looks like the impression of a class ring..." Lex said, brushing the wet hair away from Clark's cheek. He furrowed his brow, reaching over and grabbing the flashlight and shining it on Clark. There was only a little smudge of fading bruise on his cheek. As they watched, it disappeared. Lex let out an incredulous breath, setting the flashlight down, then running his fingers over the once more pristine flesh. His eyes darted up to Pete.

Pete shifted uncomfortably. "Well, whatever man. I'm sure he'll tell us what happened when he wakes up."

Lex's eyes narrowed suspiciously at Pete's lack of surprise and averted gaze, but then he just pulled the robe back up. "Let's just get him out of here before he freezes to death please."

"I'll go get my car." Pete muttered, hurrying off.

- 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 -

Jenkins tossed in his sleep. He sighed and opened his eyes, staring up at the darkened ceiling above. He couldn't help but wonder if they'd found Clark's body yet. No... they probably wouldn't find it until morning at least. With luck, perhaps not until he had already left for military school Saturday morning so they wouldn't even question him. He knew no one had seen him slip away from the party to follow Clark.

So he'd arranged the party and bought the keg. That didn't mean anything. It was a going away party. He hadn't even directly invited Clark. And the kid he had handing out drinks wouldn't know he had anything to do with tampering with those drinks. He'd been having him welcome each newcomer with a full glass of beer from the beginning of the party. He hadn't been sure which cup would've been handed to Clark, so he'd drugged both, but it's not like he'd done anything to Sullivan. Sure it would have been fun to give the know-it-all bitch a good hard screw to make up for embarrassing him, but Clark had drunk his beer faster. Well, if he had any sense that Fischer boy she'd gone off with took advantage of the opportunity when the drugs finally hit her and she got what was coming to her anyway. Would have been more fun if he'd been able to do it, though.

He took a deep breath and sighed it out. All that planning and he hadn't even gotten laid. At least Kent got what he deserved. He hadn't planned on doing anything quite so permanent, and he did feel kind guilty, but more than anything he was just worried about what was going to happen to him now. Both legally and serious worries about his poor damaged penis. It's not like he could go see a doctor! It better not get infected! An ache went through him at the thought and he couldn't help but think Kent deserved what he got. Who the hell bites someone's junk? What an asshole!

He started, his eyes darting over as there was a sudden sound, but then he silently chastised himself, realizing it had just been the curtains snapping in the brisk wind. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, willing himself to go back to sleep.

"You seem jumpy tonight." A calm, very familiar voice said from the darkness.

Jenkins let out a surprised cry and scrambled up in his bed, fumbling around frantically for the light switch. When he finally got the lights on he looked over.

Lex was sitting in his desk chair wearing a long black coat, leaning back casually, his black gloved fingers steepled before him.

"What the Hell are you doing here, Luthor?" Jenkins demanded, trying to sound forceful... though it came out more like a frightened squeak. He kept darting his eyes around, but for some reason the baseball bat he kept by his bed was gone. His eyes glanced back warily at Lex, then caught on the baseball bat... leaning against the wall behind Lex. SHIT! He knew _he_ hadn't put it there! "Get out! You're breaking and entering!" He sputtered desperately, "I'm calling the cops!" he said, grabbing the phone off the nightstand.

"Don't bother." Lex said, giving him a cold smile, "I already called them with an anonymous tip. They'll be here shortly."

"Wha... what?" Jenkins asked, his eyes wide and terrified. He quickly tried to hide his fear, "Well, good! They can throw your ass in jail!"

Lex let out a little humorless breath, "Oh, they're not coming for me, but I suspect you already knew that. Tell me, because I'm really curious, did you really think you could murder my best friend and get away with it?" He asked, his expression hardening just a bit more.

"I... I don't know what the Hell you're talking about!" Jenkins forced out, trying not to look guilty.

"Clark Kent never did anything to you... and yet you had no qualms about drugging him and attempting to _rape him_, and then _killing him_ when he fought back?"

"I did not! You're insane!" Jenkins insisted.

"You've been planning it for about a week. You set up the party, got the drugs... quite illegal drugs at that." Lex said evenly, his tone deceptively casual. "A week. That's quite clearly premeditated. That won't even be a question in court. I bet you were even stupid enough to plan it all out on paper. Probably even have extras of the drugs you used. Since they were probably mostly 'home made' the chemical composition should be as distinctive as a fingerprint. That will be a direct link admissible, and quite damning, in court. You probably even have them right here in your house. Not even bright enough to dispose of them properly, are you?"

Jenkins' eyes darted over to the backpack on his desk and he yanked off the covers, darting up.

Suddenly there was a sleek silver gun in Lex's hand trained on him. "Sit down, Mr. Jenkins." Lex said in that maddeningly calm voice.

Jenkins sat down, his eyes glued to the shiny barrel pointed at him. "Are... are you going to kill me?" He asked in a terrified whisper.

Lex gave him a little cold smile. "Now why would I do that? That would deprive you of the very long life behind bars that you so richly deserve. Given your crimes, I quite imagine your ride to the prison will be one way. Don't you worry, though. You'll be far from lonely in there. By the time you get there I will have taken the liberty of lining up your cellmates for you. Never fear, they'll all be _very_ friendly and will make sure you're quite _popular _with your fellow inmates." He glanced at his watch, "Well, while we're waiting, why don't you tell me something I haven't been able to figure out yet. I know in your sick little mind you probably thought killing Clark would hurt me... but why would you want to kill Chloe Sullivan and Tommy Fischer? What did _they_ ever do to you?"

"WHAT?" Jenkins gasped, his eyes trying valiantly to open wider than his eye sockets would allow.

"Don't tell me you're really too stupid to realize that by mixing a full dose of each of three or four different, already potentially lethal, drugs it would induce a rather severe overdose? They probably also interacted badly... either that or they were just very poorly made. Chloe shared her beer with Tommy. There was more than enough in that one glass to kill both of them and leave plenty over for the police to analyze. So... triple homicide. I would say impressive for a first crime, but I guess technically the attempted vehicular homicide was the first."

"This is crazy!" Jenkins sputtered. "You can't prove any of this! Now get out of here before I yell and bring my parents in here! Threatening someone with a gun is illegal! Especially when you're threatening a minor!" He said, trying to force some bravado into his voice.

Lex gave him another slow, cold smile. "Oh please! You're just barely a minor... and don't worry, I'm sure they'll try you as an adult. As for your parents... you forget to whom you are speaking. I happen to know that your father is working nights, and your mother is working over as well, trying to meet the deadline for her project. It's just you, me... and soon the cops."

"You know, if they find any evidence, it'll be obvious you planted it!" Jenkins said, his eyes narrowing calculatingly.

Lex tilted his head thoughtfully, "How will you ever prove I was even here? Surely you don't think I'm going to leave a hair behind? Perhaps a fingerprint?" He said, wriggling his gloved fingers at him. "It's true that much of the evidence could probably be seen as circumstantial... or your lawyer could argue it was planted and perhaps create a shadow of a doubt in the jury's minds if he's good enough... but there was blood on that flannel you left on the dock. I really doubt it was Clark's. How will you explain that?"

His eyes widened a bit as he thought furiously. "I... maybe... we argued earlier. Ya... and he hit me. That's how my blood might have gotten on his shirt... if it even did!"

Lex nodded thoughtfully. "If that's the story you're going with, you'd better hope there isn't any of your blood on the pier they are undoubtedly scouring for evidence by now. Of course I know where the blood really came from." He said, his eyes darting over to him and hardening. "Any rapist will tell you it's sheer idiocy to stick your dick in your victim's mouth if there's any chance there's still some fight in them!"

"How... how could you possibly..." Jenkins sputtered before he could stop himself.

"I saw it in a dream, actually. I'm guessing the peculiar properties of the meteor rocks in the lake are what caused it. I saw what you did to him, heard your words... I saw you kill him. That's how I knew... that's how I was able to find him... only I was too late." Lex stood up, his expression growing colder as he started to lose the calm facade, his hand gripping the gun as if he was having to fight to keep himself from emptying the clip into the boy before him, "I had to pull the best friend I've ever had out of a lake. His body was already _cold_ by the time I could reach him. You know what it's like to try to breath life back into the person you care about the most... the whole time knowing deep down that there's no point... no real hope... that he's slipped away and I can never get him back? Clark Kent was the last shred of conscience I had. Knowing he wouldn't want me to do bad things is the only thing that's kept me from doing so very much... without _him_..." He let out a little darkly amused breath, shaking his head with a slightly deranged glint in his eye. "My dream may not be admissible in court... but believe me, I will have a whole team of the best lawyers in the world making sure you spend the rest of your life in prison, with hundreds of big, scary men doing to you what you tried to do to him every single night for the rest of your life! You might be able to explain away everything else... but you want to know what the one irrefutable piece of evidence will be? The one piece of evidence that is guaranteed to put you in jail for life? That pathetic little pecker of yours. Tell me, did you know that each person's teeth leave a completely unique pattern? A pattern that can be, and has been, used successfully to convict murderers like you?" He flicked his eyes out the window. "Well, looks like your ride's here." He said, smiling at Jenkins maliciously, "I was sure to tell them to do a strip search. I'm leaving now... but if you try to run before they collect you... well..." He said, holding up the gun and showing it to him, "You won't run far. I'd stay put and take what's coming to you if I were you. Have fun in Hell, Jenkins."

Jenkins whipped his head around to the window that looked out towards the highway. There was a car pulling into the winding drive leading to the house... one with lights on top of it. They might not be on, but he'd seen enough cop shows to know they went in silent when trying to nab someone they think might make a break for it if they knew the cops were on the way. His eyes darted warily back over to Lex... only Lex wasn't there. The curtains flapped in the breeze, but the room was empty except for him.

He ran over and grabbed up his backpack, then darted out of his room into the kitchen. He grabbed the baggy of left over drugs out of the side pocket, dumping them down the garbage disposal, quickly turning on the water and the switch that made the disposal growl to life. Then in the other half of the double sink he ripped the incriminating pages out of his notebook, as well as some of the surrounding pages just in case his pencil left an imprint or something, wadded them up and set them on fire.

Ok... ok, that's most of it... but how could he possibly hide the last, most damning piece of evidence?

There was a sudden, very loud knocking on the door. Jenkins panicked, his heart racing wildly. His eyes darted out the window as he saw the deputy out by the garage, shining his flashlight on the little bit of damage hitting that chick in town had left on his front fender. "Shit, shit, shit, shit!" Jenkins said. Well, they might be able to get him for that, but they sure as Hell weren't going to get him on a triple homicide! He clenched his eyes shut, terrified tears streaming from his eyes as he realized the only thing he could possibly do to save himself from a life in prison...

- 0 – 0 – 0 –

Lex peered out from beneath the shadow of his hood, watching as the paramedics pulled quickly away from the house, lights flashing as the siren started up. They left a perplexed looking Sheriff standing on the porch, hands on hips and shaking her head. Lex then turned, making his way slowly back into the shadows of the trees, a small, tight smile on his lips.

- 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 -

A/N – a little short, but you guys had been left hanging for a bit there, and I knew it would have been quite a bit more of a wait if I tried to add another scene, besides which it broke nicely here. I would prefer to start the next day on a new chapter. I know, I know, letting Clark live means Lex hasn't learned any lessons and vowed to be a good boy from now on (obviously), but did you really think that would happen? Besides, it's not like he would just sit back and let Jenkins get away with it. I mean seriously, in what universe would a _Luthor_ let something like that slide?

So... what now? What about his relationship with Clark? Lex is obviously convinced he is nothing but bad for Clark... so what do you think? A "you're better off without me" speech followed by a tactical retreat? Perhaps leave Smallville entirely so Clark doesn't have to see him with the 'other woman'? I need feedback. Even if you don't have an opinion either way (in which case you would be a very rare person indeed!) I would still like to hear from you. If nothing else, I want to know there's really people out there reading this that like it enough to take two minutes and send me a review. It really does wonders for the motivation of writers.


	10. Morning

Chapter 10  
>Morning<p>

The empty cattle trailer skidded to the side dangerously as Jonathan turned into the lane, but managed not to slide over into the ditch. He grimaced as he watched it wobble precariously in the rear view, but didn't slow down much until he saw someone ahead. He furrowed his brow, watching the young woman in mud spattered khaki cargo pants and wearing what appeared to be one of Clark's old flannels over a green T-shirt, the ends tied in a knot in front. She had her drizzle dampened copper hair tied up with an faded red paisley handkerchief and was limping slightly and carrying two large buckets full of feed. She stopped and set them down, waiving a worn work glove at them as Jonathan pulled the truck to a stop, the weight of the trailer making them skid a bit in the mud before finally coming to rest.

"You must be Clark's folks." She said genially as they got out of the truck.

"And just who are you?" Jonathan asked, eyeing the buckets.

"Terrisa Limner. You can call me Terri." She said, walking over and holding out her hand. "Oops." She said, spotting the mud stained work glove and quickly pulling it off before offering her hand once more.

Jonathan shook it, eyeing her warily. "And what exactly are you doing, 'Terri'?" He asked, nodding his head towards the buckets.

"Oh." She said, glancing back at the buckets, then flashing him a smile. "Just finishing up the chores. I found a checklist on the fridge in the kitchen. I'm curious... is he forgetful or did he just have extra chores while you were gone?" She asked with amusement.

"Clark's just been a bit... distracted lately." Jonathan muttered, then raised his voice again, "And just why are _you_ doing his chores?"

She shrugged, "Well, what else was I supposed to do? Elise just got back from the grocery store and is making lunch as we speak. Linda's watching the boys..."

"The 'boys'?" Jonathan cut in.

"Ya. Clark and Lex." She said, obviously surprised he didn't know who she was referring to.

"What's Lex doing here?" Jonathan asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Watching Clark like a hawk, what else?" Terri said with amusement.

"I thought Pete was watching him!"

"No. He took his friends to the hospital last night, then he came back here and stayed the night, but then he had to go to school. I called the school to tell them Clark wouldn't be in today, but they'd like you to call back and confirm since I'm obviously not a parent or guardian."

"Pete just wandered off and left Clark?" Jonathan asked in dismay.

"It's not like Clark was alone!" Terri replied, "We were here. You know, if you ask me, Lex should have stopped by the hospital himself. He had to have gotten at least a touch of hypothermia when he went into that lake after Clark, but he wouldn't even let Linda clean up the cut on his head until she'd checked Clark over."

"_Lex_ pulled him out of the lake?" Jonathan asked in surprise.

"Oh yeah." She said distractedly as she pulled a damp bit of hair out of her face and tucked it back with the rest of her hair. "I wasn't there of course, but from what I heard he dove right off the pier, hauled Clark back to shore, gave him CPR, then carried him all the way to the access road, which wasn't all that close from what Elise said, then when they got here he hauled Clark into the house and all the way up to his room. I must say, Lex is apparently a lot stronger than I gave him credit for. Clark's a well built boy, so I can't imagine he's light. Lex looks like such a soft, pampered rich boy. Who knew?"

"Lex can hold his own." Jonathan grudgingly conceded, recalling all the hard farm chores Lex had done when he'd stayed with them briefly. Still, he was surprised the man was strong enough to be carrying Clark around. Even Jonathan usually got help on the few occasions he'd had to carry his son somewhere since Clark had hit puberty. He suspected Clark's body was a bit denser than a normal human of his size, because he certainly weighed more than you would suspect from looking at him.

"Well, so Linda and Lex have been watching Clark for signs of secondary drowning, but his lungs were still sounding clear when she checked him about an hour ago. Still, Lex has barely slept he's been so worried."

"Pete said Clark was alright!" Martha said pensively.

"Oh, I'm sure he will be!" Terri quickly assured them, "Lex is just a bit over protective. Clark's just worn out and needs to rest. Near drowning and hypothermia are bad enough, but who knows what might have been in that water! Not to mention it looks like he was dosed with at least some of the same drugs the other two were. I'm sure he'll get over it, but even Linda said it'd probably take time to flush the toxins and whatnot from his body. Still, he's warmed up nicely and he's coherent whenever he wakes, and is drinking plenty of fluids to help flush his system. All things considered, he's doing amazingly well."

"I'm going to go check on him." Martha said, patting Jonathan on the arm before hurrying off towards the house.

Jonathan nodded, then looked back at Terri. "Well, thanks for the help, but you can consider your job done. Tell Lex I can manage the chores just fine on my own, thanks."

She looked nonplussed for a moment, then chuckled merrily, "No one hired me to do this, least of all Lex!"

"Then... if you don't mind my asking, why are you doing it?" He asked, obviously trying to phrase it delicately, though tact was far from his strong suit.

"Well, for one your son saved my life yesterday, so a couple of measly chores is the very least I could do... and I'm not really one to just sit around and watch and wait. I need to be doing something. Besides, isn't it an old farming community tradition to lend your neighbor a hand when it's needed?"

"Yes... but we're not neighbors." Jonathan replied with a smile.

"And I hate to disagree with you, but we are now. I'm moving into the Remington farm just down from where Lex lives. That might be a ways away in a city, but out here in the boonies that's practically next door."

"Oh..." Jonathan said in surprise, "I had no idea. Welcome to the neighborhood then I guess. I must say, I'm a bit relieved. I'm glad the land won't be plowed under and turned into another plant or waste dump or something like that. There was a nasty rumor going around that LexCorp had purchased that land."

Terri nodded, "Oh, Lex's _company_ didn't buy it. _Lex_ did. I'm just going to be living there. He's engaged to marry my best friend, and she wanted me nearby, so he's letting me live there. Rest assured, he's promised not to develop on the land. I almost get the feeling he bought it just for me, but that would be a ridiculously expensive way to keep me around."

"I wouldn't put it past him." Jonathan replied evenly.

She shrugged, "Well, I don't plan on doing a lot of farming. I just more planned to live there, maybe renovate the barn into an art studio, but I've toyed with the idea of getting an animal or two to have around, and the orchard out back looks pretty self sustaining. A garden would, of course, be mandatory as well, but just a small one. No more than an acre. I was thinking perhaps a couple of milk cows. What are your thoughts on chickens?"

Jonathan gave a snort. "I wouldn't go with chickens. Noisy, messy and rarely worth the effort unless you're mass producing. And before you ask, geese have a nasty temperament, so you'd do well to steer clear of those as well."

She nodded, "Thanks for the advice. I always thought the idea of stealing their eggs was a bit evil anyway. I'd probably feel too guilty to do it!" She said with a little laugh.

"Well, it's been a pleasure meeting you, but..." He said, indicating the house.

"By the way," She said quickly, "I saw that awesome loft room you have in there." She said, indicating the barn, "Did you do that work yourself?"

"As a matter of fact I did." Jonathan said, trying to remain polite sounding as he continued edging towards the house.

"Well, I'm not really into carpentry, so I'm kind of in the market for someone who could help me renovate my barn. I'm not rich like Lex, but I do reasonably well, so I can pay..."

"I'll think about it. We can talk more later." He said with a nod before turning and starting for the house once more.

"Oh, Mr. Kent!" She called before he'd gotten more than a couple of paces, "One more thing... I was curious... Do you have powers too? Or is it just Clark?"

Jonathan froze in his tracks, then slowly turned to look back at her.

She smiled and picked one of the buckets back up. "Why don't we feed the cows while we chat?" She asked brightly.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

Linda was nodding off a bit, her eyes heavy and her body weary from the all night vigil. Lex was sleeping at last. She'd never seen him so worried. He didn't seem to want to let Clark out of his sight. He'd even gone into the shower with him and held him up while he cleaned the lake water off of him, then gently dried Clark off and put him to bed, then had even gotten under the covers with Clark to help get him warmed up. In fact, she'd been rather surprised when he'd agreed to borrow her car and drive home to change clothes once they were sure Clark was stable. Lex walking around in damp boxers or clothes borrowed from Clark would have been difficult to explain if Clark's parents walked in and saw him. Lex'd actually been gone a bit longer than she'd expected. She suspected he'd needed the time to gather himself, because he'd looked much calmer when he finally returned. Once Pete had left for school Lex had slipped back into bed with Clark and finally given in to exhaustion.

God they looked so adorable cuddled up together! Clark had draped himself half across Lex, his arm looped around him possessively, his head nestled up against Lex's neck. His face was so serene it was like looking at a sleeping angel. Lex was looking pretty peaceful himself. She'd always thought he looked so sweet when he slept... but even then there had always seemed to be a kind of sadness around him. But laying there, cuddled up to that boy, he looked absolutely content and at peace for the first time since she'd met him.

She closed her eyes wearily and just listened to them breathing. It was soft and slow... and in almost perfect sync. It was so soothing to listen to.

A sudden creak broke her out of the daze and she rubbed her eyes and shifted back up in her chair. When she blinked her eyes back open she suddenly realized there was someone else in the room.

"Mrs. Kent!" She said quickly, though she kept her voice hushed as she scrambled up out of her chair. "This isn't what it looks like." Martha didn't say a word, her eyes locked on her son, so Linda pressed on, "Your son was hypothermic. We had to raise his body temperature, and he refused to go to the hospital, so we had to use the old fashioned method of body heat transference. I know he technically shouldn't be sleeping after getting hypothermia, but we couldn't keep him awake. I suspect it's the drugs he was dosed with."

"Is my son alright now?" Martha asked softly, her eyes still fixed on her son. He looked so peaceful, a faint smile on his lips even in sleep.

"He seems to be." Linda replied quickly, "He should be watched for signs of secondary drowning for seventy two hours after the incident, and if he was exposed to the same drug cocktail as the other two he really should have been admitted to the hospital for observation. It's possible the contents of his stomach escaped into the lake water, which may be why he hasn't had as serious a reaction as they did, but it's likely at least some got into his bloodstream before he went into the water. The drugs would explain why he wasn't able to simply swim to shore... but then he may have just been knocked unconscious. He hasn't said much, but it sounds as if the boy who drugged them accosted him on the pier. Mr. Ross took the other two to the hospital and the doctors there pumped their stomachs, but they still had to stay overnight for observation. Clark really should go to the hospital just to be safe, but he didn't want to go. Lex insisted we respect his wishes and wouldn't even let me take a blood sample to confirm what toxins might still be in him. Still, you're here now, and you're his parent, so if..."

Martha's eyes darted over to her for the first time. "No. No blood tests and no hospital." She said quickly.

"If he was drugged they will need proof in order to prosecute whomever did it. Many drugs metabolize and become untraceable within hours. Any evidence might be disappearing as we speak." She said reasonably.

Martha shook her head. "You said that whoever it was drugged two other people."

Linda nodded, "Chloe Sullivan and Tommy Fischer. I thought you'd been told. They're still at the hospital, but I believe they'll be released shortly. They should be alright, but if they'd consumed much more it could very easily have killed them. The drug cocktail they were given... at that strength, intent to cause death shouldn't be hard to prove in court. No one could be stupid enough not to realize those were toxic levels. And the drugs appear to have been all of the kind that take some time to set in, so the victim would have been more likely to consume the whole glass before even starting to feel the effects. Whoever did this had unquestionably malicious intent, a complete lack of morales, and obviously needs to be locked away."

"I'm not questioning that. I just don't think they need my son's blood to prove that. They already have two samples. They shouldn't need more than that." Martha said evenly.

Linda sighed, "Even without the drugs, that lake isn't exactly pure. Who knows what could have gotten into his system from that water. Bad things have happened to people who have fallen into that lake. We had him shower as soon as we got him home, but the real danger will be what might have entered his body when he breathed that water in. The lungs lead almost directly into the circulatory system. He really needs..."

"I know you're just looking out for my son," Martha broke in gently but firmly, "And I'm grateful for all you've done for him... But we can take care of him from here. What you really need to focus on right now is the fact that it looks like the young woman outside has stalled my husband as long as she could, but he's heading for the house as we speak. Do you really want him walking into this room right now?"

Linda's eyes shot wide and darted out the window, seeing Jonathan heading for the house, then down to Lex, who was still sleeping. She turned quickly towards the door.

Martha caught her arm before she could leave. "Be stubbornly insistant on taking him to the hospital and getting blood samples."

Linda nodded in understanding, then hurried out and down the stairs.

The floorboard creaked as Martha came to a stop beside the bed. Lex stirred, then slowly blinked his eyes open. It seemed to take him a moment to register who he was looking up at, then his eyes darted around, taking in his surroundings, then down to Clark. He immediately tried to shift up, but Clark just tightened his hold on him a bit and nuzzled into the side to his neck.

"Clark, I have to get up now." Lex said gently.

"No. Stay with me." Clark muttered, obviously still mostly asleep.

Lex glanced up at Martha again, then sighed and tried to move Clark's arm. Clark immediately resisted, his arm snaking under Lex and pulling him up tight so he couldn't escape. Lex winced in pain, but didn't say anything.

"Clark, dear." Martha said softly, reaching down and stroking Clark's hair, "Let go. You're hurting him."

Clark still didn't look conscious, but he instinctively released his hold at her words and rolled onto his back. She backed up and Lex slid out from under the blankets and got up, making sure to keep the covers down so Clark wouldn't get a chill. He was fully dressed, save for his shoes, but he still felt naked somehow. He located his shoes and sat down on one of the chairs they'd brought in, pulling them on, all the while carefully not looking at her. How does a grown man face the mother of the teenaged boy he'd slept with? The little scene she'd just walked in on may have been relatively innocent, but the familiarity with which they had held each other was telling enough for a blind man to see.

"So you're the one Clark's been pining for." She said softly.

Lex finished with his shoes and straightened up, but still couldn't make himself look at her. He couldn't think up a single lie that he could bring himself to tell her right to her face like this. In business he could be the king of deception. He'd even lied straight to his own father's face without batting an eye... but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to lie to Martha Kent. How many times had she defended him and given him the benefit of the doubt, even when he hadn't really deserved it? Clark may have been the single most welcoming and accepting person to Lex in Smallville, but Martha came in a close second. And for a young man who had lost his own mother early in life, the lure of the brief glimpses of maternal affection she sometimes bestowed upon him made him feel a childish desperation to earn more. Well, any hope of ever earning more affection from her was most likely far out of reach now... but he still couldn't bring himself to disappoint her further with deception... so he chose to remain silent.

She sat down on the side of the bed. Clark rolled over onto his side again. His hand quested for Lex for a moment before stilling, his absence eliciting a little sad sigh. Martha set one of the pillows next to him and Clark latched onto it, hugging it to him. He settled back down into sleep, but the little smile had left his lips.

"I have to admit... I suspected it was you." She said as she stroked Clark's tousled hair. "He's always been such a happy boy... but he hasn't smiled since the last time you two were together. Well, not _really_ smiled anyway. He really _wasn't_ trying to hurt you that day, was he?"

Lex's cheeks colored and he looked away. It was pretty obvious she'd already deduced what had happened.

"When I heard you'd left..." She said in a soft, hesitant voice, "I couldn't help but worry... he... he didn't... _force_...?"

"No!" He said quickly before she could even finish the question. She could think whatever she wanted about Lex, but he could never let her think for a moment that her son would ever do anything like that. But now that he'd finally broken the silence, he couldn't just leave it like that. He wanted her to understand, though he wasn't sure she ever would. "But I swear to you, I never would have even _thought_ of..." God, he couldn't even force the words out, "It _was..._ his _idea_, and I had no idea he wasn't himself at the time, but I should have tried harder to stop it. _I_ was the adult, which makes what happened entirely _my_ fault. If I'd just have tried a bit harder I know he would have stopped. I left because I thought it would be better for Clark... but then I came back and I see now that it was the worst thing I could have done. Hurting Clark is the last thing I would ever want to do. I can't apologize enough for the pain I've cause him." He got up, though his eyes stayed locked on the floor, "You can tell your husband if you want. I've more than earned anything he might do to me." He said as he took his long black coat off the back of the chair and pulled it on.

"Just tell me one thing, and be completely honest with me." She said quickly as he turned towards the door.

He turned back, eyeing her warily for a moment, then said, "Anything."

"Do you love my son?" She asked softly.

Damn it! Why did _Martha Kent_ have to asked him that? Lex's eyes strayed hesitantly back over to Clark. The sight of him filled Lex with so much guilt and sorrow he could barely stand it... but even that couldn't eclipse the feelings he wished he could deny. He took a deep breath. "More than life." He admitted, trying and failing to keep the soul deep ache out of his voice. "But don't worry." He added softly, "I'm leaving for Metropolis as soon as I can get things in order here... and this time I won't come back. I learn from my mistakes. He may not like it at first, but he'll get over it in time. He's much better off without me."

"You saved his life." She noted softly, "He wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for you."

He gave her a little grim smile. "I sincerely appreciate the attempt to justify my existence, especially after what I've done... but that hardly counts if I'm the one who put his life in danger in the first place. That boy went after Clark because he knew it would hurt me. I'm the one he was after. I seem to inspire that kind of hatred in a lot of people. That's got to say something about me. I think we both know the world would be a better place if I'd just been left in that corn field all those years ago."

Martha stood up, "Lex..." She said sadly, but then she quickly stopped as they heard Jonathan's work boots clomping quickly up the stairs.

Linda followed him up pensively. A wave of relief crossed her face as she saw Lex there in the hallway.

Lex stood aside, letting Jonathan hurry past him.

"Stay as long as they need you." Lex told Linda quickly, "And make sure they have your number when you leave."

She nodded, her eyes growing concerned.

Lex forced his eyes back over to Martha. "Goodbye, Mrs. Kent." He said softly, then he slipped past Linda and on down the stairs before Martha could say another word.

- 0 – 0 – 0 -

Chloe awoke to the irritating soft murmur of voices. She tried to shut them out, but then the word 'drugs' was said, sending up little red flags in her mind. Her curiosity, so easily roused, dragged her back towards full consciousness.

"The amounts found in that cup were obviously lethal. She couldn't have had more than a sip or two."

Chloe cracked her eyes open. One glance told her she was in the local hospital. She could see her father standing by the door, his back to her, but it was the dark skinned man in a doctor's uniform that was talking.

"She got off really lucky." He said gravely, "It could have been far worse than just getting her stomach pumped."

Well, that explained to god awful feeling in her stomach and the raw feeling in her throat. Her mind was still a bit groggy, but it was alert enough to piece together that she'd been drugged. Someone must have slipped something into her drink. No wonder it'd tasted so bad. Who the Hell would do something like that? You'd have to be a real bastard to drug someone's drink at a party. Ah. She had an inkling who it might have been...

"One of the drugs was botched when it was manufactured." the doctor continued, "The boy had enough in him to cause renal failure if it'd been left untreated much longer."

The boy? What boy? It suddenly clicked in her mind. If someone had drugged her beer... "Tommy!" She yelled in alarm, though it came out as something more like a raspy squawk. She sat up, but that sent her head spinning. She felt hands take hold of her, trying to urge her to lay back down.

"Take it easy, Miss Sullivan." The doctor's warm voice said.

She resisted, pulling her arm from his grasp and clutching her head until it settled. "Where's Tommy?" She asked, her voice scratchy and a bit vague as she fought off a wave of lightheadedness.

"Calm down, honey." Her father said, "Everything's ok now."

"What happened to Tommy?" She persisted.

"Drink this." The doctor said, placing a warm mug in her hand. She opened her mouth to object, but he quickly cut her off. "Drink first, then I'll answer your questions."

She sighed, then took a drink. It was kind of nice actually. Some kind of tea or something of the like. It was a bit too sweet, with a definite honey flavor, but not so much that it was cloying. She had to admit it did wonders for her throat. When she spoke again her voice had smoothed out a bit and it didn't hurt as much. "How's Tommy?"

"He'll be alright." The doctor assured her.

She narrowed her eyes, suspecting he was just lying to her to calm her down. "I heard you say something about renal failure. That's bad. That's like his liver or something..." She said, rubbing her head and trying to remember. She knew this one. She knew it was something vital, but her head was still a bit muddled and she couldn't quite remember.

"Kidneys." The doctor corrected her, "But we were able to get to him before any permanent damage was done. He'll have to be careful about what he consumes and what over the counter medications he takes for a while, but as long as he follows instructions there should be no lasting damage. We're keeping him tonight for observation, but I expect to be releasing him by tomorrow morning. You should be released by this afternoon, as soon as we get the last of the lab results in. You seem to have been exposed longer, but consumed less. You should probably avoid certain things for a week or so as well, but it wasn't nearly as bad in your case. We've given your father a list. It's not too restrictive. You just have to avoid certain pain relievers that are hard on the kidneys, try to avoid caffeine..."

Her eyes went round. "Wait a second! Are you seriously trying to tell me I can't have coffee?" She asked, horrified.

Her father chuckled softly. "You'll survive." He assured her.

Chloe pouted, not quite as sure...

They didn't want her getting up. She drank her tea and played nice. Her father left to put in a half day at work, and the doctors and nurses eventually left. As soon as she was finally alone, she got out of the bed. It was a bit more painful to stand than expected, and she discovered her knees were pretty badly bruised and there was a roughly six inch by three inch bandaged taped across her lower leg. It was numb for the moment, but she suspected it was a cut of some kind. She wondered if there were stitches hiding under that bandage, but wasn't about to peek. It was bad enough that she might get a scar out of this, she didn't want it to be worse just because she was too stupid to leave her bandage alone and got an infection.

She located her clothes and quickly changed into them. She wasn't one for the air conditioned gowns. She peeked out the door, watching until the coast was clear, then slipped out of her room. She made her way down the hall, peering into each room, but a lot of them had the door closed. She peeked in to each of those as subtly as possible, but obviously wasn't careful enough.

"What do you think you're doing, young lady?" A crisp voice asked from behind her.

Chloe snapped the door she'd been peeking into shut and spun around, trying not to look guilty.

"That's a private room." The nurse said, eyeing her warily.

"Sorry!" Chloe said quickly, "I just... I was looking for my friend. I was told he was brought in last night, but they didn't say what room he was in. I didn't mean to be nosey... I just wanted to see him." She said, giving her best innocent smile, hoping this woman didn't know she was supposed to be a patient.

The woman's expression softened. "That teenage boy they brought in last night?"

Chloe nodded.

"I'm afraid he just got out of surgery. He's still in the recovery room, but you might be able to see him in about an hour or so when they move him to a regular room. He'll be in the last room on the right once they move him." She said, indicating the door down the hall.

Chloe's eyes went round. "Surgery? Is he going to be ok?" She asked worriedly.

"I'm afraid there wasn't much they could do. Well, I doubt there is much even the hospital in Metropolis could have done under the circumstances, and our hospital isn't quite as well equipped as them. I'm afraid self mutilation isn't something we deal with a lot here in Smallville. Well, that's a good thing obviously, but we just weren't prepared for..."

Chloe held up her hand, "Whoa! What are you talking about? Did those drugs make him hurt himself?"

"Drugs?" The nurse asked, furrowing her brow, "Well that would explain a lot, but I didn't hear them saying anything about his tox screen showing anything more than a little bit of alcohol..."

"We... I mean he came here because he was drugged at a party." Chloe said. When the nurse just looked confused she elaborated, "Tommy Fischer. He was brought in late last night..."

"Oh! Lands! I'm sorry. I thought you were talking about the Jenkins boy! Your friend must have come in before I came on shift. Let me check." She said, hurrying over to a console at the small nurse's station.

Chloe stared after her, shocked. Jenkins was there? There were only three Jenkins' in town, the jerk from school and his parents, so the odds were pretty stacked in the favor of it being the boy she strongly suspected was behind the drugging of her drink. He'd mutilated himself in some way the doctors couldn't even fix? Oh she HAD to know what that was about! Still, there would be time for that later. She quickly shut her mouth and wiped the shock off her face as the nurse turned back.

"Umm..." the nurse said uncertainly, "Sorry, dear. His parents aren't here yet, so we're really only supposed to let family in to see him until his parents give consent. Looks like we've been calling all night, but haven't been able to contact them. Maybe they work the night shift." She said regretfully.

"Oh please!" Chloe pleaded, "You have to let me see him! It was my beer someone spiked, and I let him have it, and if anything happens to him... Please, I have to know he's alright!" She said, her eyes tearing up.

The nurse looked torn.

"Please!" Chloe begged, clasping her hands before her as if in prayer, letting a couple of tears slide down her cheeks.

The nurse took a deep breath and sighed it out. "I... I'm sorry. I can't. I'm going to go on my fifteen minute break now, then I'll be doing my rounds. You can wait in the waiting room up front. I'll tell you when he can be seen." She said evenly, then gave a slight glance to the console before striding off towards the break room.

Chloe looked around to make sure no one was looking, then hurried over to the console that had 'accidentally' been left logged in. Tommy's file was up already. She quickly located his room number, then glanced over the entry. A lot of it was in medical technobabble, but it seemed to say basically what the doctor had told her. Well, it was reassuring to know the man hadn't lied to her. Some adults had an irritating habit of lying because they seemed to think teens were incapable of handling the truth.

She was about to log out, but then paused. She shouldn't. She glanced both ways once more, then quickly backed out of Tommy's file and typed in Jenkins' name. She knew she shouldn't... but she also knew she'd just stand there and agonize over the morality of it for a while before giving in anyway, so she didn't waste the time. She'd never have forgiven herself if someone had come along and she'd missed out on this golden opportunity. She opened the file that popped up... then her jaw dropped.

"Oh my God!" She breathed, staring at the screen with morbid fascination. She hit the print key almost without thinking. She blushed guiltily and glanced around again when she realized what she'd done... but she still took the pages when the printer spit them out, folding them up and stuffing them into the pocket of her jeans before quickly returning the browser to the home page and logging out.

She was a bit stunned as she walked down the hall. She was sure she must have read that wrong... but she couldn't risk taking the papers back out and looking at them again. She didn't want to lose those! That was a journalistic gold mine! The trick would be how to report on it without breaking any of the rules the principal had set down... let alone admitting where she'd gotten the information, since what she'd just done was just a tad illegal.

She snapped out of it, pushing it back down into the back of her mind as she neared the right room. She checked for nurses, then quickly and quietly slipped into the room, closing the door after her. It was a two bed room, but luckily the other bed wasn't occupied at the moment. Tommy appeared to be asleep, and looked like he was a bit uncomfortable. He'd shoved the blankets to the side and was sprawled across the bed at a somewhat awkward angle. It made her a bit nervous that they had felt it necessary to clip a little monitor to his finger, but at least he didn't have an IV or anything. The heart monitor beeped away with a slow, steady beat. The readout read thirty eight beats per minute. That seemed a bit low to her, but he was a swimmer and seemed pretty active overall, so she supposed it might well be normal for him.

She shoved down her anxiety and approached the bed. The nurse had said she was going to be on rounds in about fifteen minutes, so that was likely all the time she had to see him. She came to a stop next to the bed and looked down at him worriedly. He looked pale, and there was one of those small bandages on his arm like she'd had on her when she woke up. She hoped it was just from them taking blood samples and not that they'd had to give him medicine intravenously.

"Tommy?" She asked softly.

His breathing changed slightly and he tossed his head to the side, but didn't wake.

She reached out and took his hand. "Tommy?" She said a little louder.

There was a little intake of breath, then he blinked his eyes open. His heart rate bumped up a couple of notches as he looked around. He spotted her and blinked again to clear his eyes. "Chloe?" He asked a bit groggily, his heart rate gaining strength.

He started to struggle to sit up, but she quickly put her hand flat on his chest, pushing him back down. "You shouldn't..." She started, but then looked over in surprise at a sudden rapid beat from the monitor. He saw her notice and when she glanced back over at him he was blushing. She blushed a bit and tried to hide her little smirk. Her touch had made his heart flutter! She quickly pulled her hand away. "Um... you should stay lying down."

"Right." He said, avoiding eye contact.

"Do you remember anything?" She asked gently.

He ran his fingers through his hair. "Not a lot. I mean they told me what happened... but the last thing I remember was..." He trailed off as his heart rate increased a bit more. He glanced over at her, his cheeks coloring again.

She grinned. The kissing she remembered.

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then looked over at her with obvious concern. "We didn't...?" He asked tentatively, "I mean... it... it didn't go further than kissing, did it? Please tell me we didn't..."

Her eyes went round. "No!" She said immediately, "Well... I mean I don't think... I mean we'd remember something like that..." And she didn't _feel _like she'd done anything. Well, other than perhaps fall a couple of times. She was a virgin after all, and by all accounts, you could usually tell when you did that for the first time. Not that it would be completely horrible if Tommy was her first... but she sure as hell didn't want to lose her virginity and not even remember it! Oh God! What if they _had_ done it? Would he have been together enough to have used protection?

"Your phone!"

"What?" Chloe asked, broken out of the beginnings of panic by his words.

"Your phone rang. I remember your phone ringing." Tommy said, obviously trying hard to remember.

It started coming back to her. She'd gotten up to answer her phone. "Right..." She said, recalling it, relieved to remember discontinuing the kissing. With luck they hadn't gone back to that and her virginity was still intact! "It was... um..." She pulled out her phone and opened it up. She furrowed her brow. Her background photo was changed and it looked like some of her preferences had been changed as well. Who'd been messing with her phone? Well, she'd leave that question for later. She went into her call log and easily found the call. "Lex?" She said, perplexed.

"Wait... I thought it was like Clark's mom or something...?" Tommy asked.

The second he said Clark an alarm rang in Chloe's head and it came to her. "Clark was missing!" She blurted, "Did we find him?" She asked, her gaze darting back over to Tommy.

He looked lost. He just shook his head, "I have no clue. I don't remember finding him, but then there seems to be a rather large chunk of the night I don't remember. They said Pete Ross brought us in. Why don't you ask him?"

"Pete! Of course!" Chloe said, wondering why he wasn't there at the hospital as she quickly selected his number and hit send. She waited impatiently as it rang a number of times. She thought it was just about to go to voice mail when it was finally answered.

"You trying to get me busted for having my phone on in class?" Pete whispered.

Chloe's eye darted to the clock as she suddenly realized it was Friday, not Saturday. "Crap! Sorry!"

"Luckily the teachers are just as eager for an update as the students are. Miss Reynolds sent me out into the hallway to answer. How are you guys?"

"We're fine." Chloe said quickly, "How's Clark? Did we find him?"

"He's... he's ok." Pete said a bit less firmly than Chloe liked.

"Where was he?" She persisted.

"He kinda fell into the lake." Pete admitted. Chloe might remember at least some of it later, and she'd be really pissed if he lied to her about that! "But Lex was able to get him out and gave him CPR in time and like I said, he should be fine. He's at home."

"He fell into the lake?" Chloe asked, confused, then her eyes widened, "Was he drugged too?"

"Um... maybe a little." Pete admitted, "Or more likely he was just a little drunk. He drank quite a bit of beer, and you know he almost never drinks."

"Why isn't he here in the hospital?" She demanded.

"Because he insisted he didn't want to go." At Chloe's indignant sound he quickly pressed on before she could start to rant, "Listen, Chloe, he was fine. Besides," He said, dropping his voice a bit more, "They can't really afford a lot of hospital bills right now. Your dad has the LexCorp medical coverage, they don't."

Chloe grimaced. She knew how tight money was for the Kents, but still... "That crap they slipped in my beer is toxic! The doctor said the stuff in that one glass was enough to kill several people! If we hadn't gotten to the hospital it could have at the very least destroyed our kidneys! And Clark had a whole glass all to himself! If they can't afford one trip to the hospital, how are they going to be able to afford having Clark on dialysis for the rest of his life?"

"He won't need that!" Pete insisted. "Listen, he barely got a sip out of that first glass before a bug flew into it and he dumped it out and got a fresh glass. Nobody else at the party was drugged, so the keg was clean."

"He dumped it out? Are you sure?" She asked with trepidation.

"I swear. I watched him dump it myself." Pete replied, glad she couldn't see him. He hated trying to lie to her face. "Listen, don't worry about him. Lex brought someone over to check him and make sure he's ok. I'm not sure if she's a nurse or what, but he said she'd had medical training and she seemed to know what she was doing. You know Lex will take care of him if anything's wrong with him."

She sighed, unhappy with it, but knowing there was very little she could do about it. Pete was right. Even if Lex was being an idiot about his relationship with Clark she couldn't believe he'd let anything happen to Clark.

"Um... it's really great to hear from you, and I can't tell you how happy I am that you're alright... um I mean that _both_ of you are, of course... but the teacher is eyeing me through the window. You got a bone I can throw her so she doesn't change her mind and confiscate my phone?"

"Right." Chloe said quickly, "I should be released this afternoon. They're keeping Tommy overnight for observation, but he should be released tomorrow." She looked over as Tommy held out his hand, wriggling his fingers in an obvious request for the phone. "Oh, um... Tommy apparently wants to talk to you." She said, then handed the phone over.

"First off, thanks for bringing us to the hospital, man." Tommy said into the phone. "You're a life saver. Literally!"

Chloe blushed, realizing she hadn't bothered to thank Pete.

"Also, just wanted to say the cops found Cloe's cup. I'd dumped most of it, but they said there was enough of that crap in what was left to kill a horse! They dusted it for prints and came up with a couple that didn't belong to either of us, but they won't know if they mean anything until they find a match for them. Afraid that's all I've heard." He paused, then said, "Sure. No problem. I have no doubt that Chloe will have the whole scoop by the time we get out of here." He said, giving Chloe a little smile.

Chloe grinned. Cute _and_ had an appreciation for her journalistic aptitude? Nice...

"Yep. See ya, man." He said before clapping the phone shut and handing it back to her. "He had to go. The bell rang."

"Right." She muttered, taking the phone and slipping it away, her mind going back to worrying about Clark.

"Um... listen..." Tommy said hesitantly and Chloe realized she'd been lost in silent introspection for a minute or two. "I... um... I didn't mean for it to sound like it would have been the end of to world if we'd... you know."

She blushed. "That's ok. I mean I was worried too." She said quickly.

He shifted a bit uncomfortably. "It's just... I've never... um..." He trailed off, his cheeks crimson, the heart rate monitor kicking up to fifty two.

Wow. That was unexpected! "Me either." She admitted, hoping it would make him feel better.

He arched an eyebrow, "Ummm... I thought you and Clark...?"

Man was she glad she didn't have one of those monitors hooked to her right now! "No! I mean yes we kinda... messed around a little... but we never actually... did _that_."

"Oh." He said softly. "Well... umm..." He took a deep breath, "This... umm... you know..." He said, waving his hand between the two of them, "It kind of had a weird start, and I'm not sure if you're even interested in me when you're not drugged..."

She flashed him a little smile. "I don't think the drugs had much to do with the interest."

His heart skipped a beat, but he pointedly ignored the annoying machine that announced it. "Well, I just... um... thought maybe I should get this over with now in case it makes a difference." He took a big breath, then forced out, "I don't plan on changing that any time soon."

She opened her mouth to ask what, then made the connection. She must still be a bit groggy. "Oh." She said softly, "Are you religious or something?" She asked, unable to squelch her curiosity. His family certainly didn't seem like the overly religious type.

"No... I just... even with protection it's a risk I'm not ready to take yet. My mom got pregnant with me when she was only sixteen. Her parents kind of forced them to get married even though they didn't love each other... and she has made no secret of the fact that she blames _me_ for her crappy life. My dad never comes out and says it... but sometimes I catch him looking at me when she's getting onto him about something... and I can just feel it. I can feel him wishing I'd never been born."

"Oh god! That's terrible!" Chloe said, reaching out and taking his hand.

"My dad's always been a lush... but he used to at least keep it to nights and weekends. It didn't start getting _really_ bad until my little brother was born. That's when dad really started hitting the bottle. Daytime, nighttime, didn't seem to matter... even if he had to work." He looked over at Chloe. "My parents both have blue eyes."

Chloe furrowed her brow, gazing at his brilliant green eyes, "But... blue is recessive. They can't _both_ have..." Her eyes went round.

"What just took you five seconds took my dad about ten years to figure out. To be honest, I figured it out looking through a junior biology book at the library a couple of months before he finally clued in. Dad never got past high school. Only passed biology because he was a football player and the coach was giving them the answers to the tests. It wasn't until my brother Levi came out with the most beautiful brown eyes that he thought to look it up. If you ask me, he should have divorced her right then... I used to delude myself into believing he stayed because he actually cares about me and knew I'd have to go with her if they split... but I think he was really just too embarrassed, so he pretended he didn't figure it out."

"Man... I've always been sad that my mother left my father and me when I was just a kid... but I guess it could have been worse." Chloe said softly.

"Ya." Was all he said.

"I understand why you want to wait."

He looked back over at her. "Do I still have any chance with you? Seriously, just be brutally honest. I'd much rather you dump me now, before I get too attached..."

"Why would you think I'd dump you just because you don't want to hop into bed with me right away?" Chloe asked with a mirthful grin.

"Because that's exactly what the other three girls I've gone out with did." He replied evenly. "The first one only went on one date with me, then dumped me when I wouldn't put out. The second one took it as a challenge and even went to far as trying to get me drunk so she could get into my pants. The last one just couldn't comprehend why I was upset when I found out she was sleeping with other guys while dating me. She said just because I didn't want any shouldn't mean that she had to go without."

"Ow! That was cold!" Chloe said. "I'd like to say I'm shocked... but there are some real bitches in our school."

"No kidding." He replied ruefully, "It's not like I wasn't willing to... you know... make them feel good." He said evasively, his cheeks coloring once more.

A little smile slipped over Chloe's lips. "Any of those girls ever bother to... you know... reciprocate?"

His cheeks had regained their previous crimson glow. "Well... I mean the second one did. A little bit one time. But then she tried to... _switch it up_. She got pretty pissed when I stopped her. That was when she dumped me. She said I was a tease, and that I shouldn't take it out unless I intended to use it."

Chloe grinned and perched herself on the side of his bed. "Well..." She said a bit mischievously, "It sounds like those girls were suffering from a severe lack of imagination. There are an awful lot of _very_ fun things two people can do together without going 'all the way'. What you need is someone a bit more... _creative_."

It was pretty obvious he liked the direction this was taking, even without the rapid beeping of the irritating machine. He struggled to shift up, but she saved him the trouble, quickly shifting down to meet him. His lips were just as warm and enticing as she remembered. Yes, in a way she was disappointed he wouldn't want to be having sex any time soon... but then again, she sure as heck didn't want to get pregnant right now anyway! Not to mention she'd already proven with Clark that you could have a pretty amazing time even without actual sex. If Tommy was willing to explore their options a bit, this might be just as rewarding. Besides, if this worked out between them they'd get there someday. She was willing to be patient.

She parted her lips as his fingers slipped through her hair. This time he took the opening. His tongue had an ever so slight medicinal taste, but it felt amazing nonetheless when he flicked it gently over hers. It amused her how fast the heart monitor was beeping, but once his tongue grew a bit bolder even that was forgotten. His other arm had slipped around her, his warm palm on the small of her back gently pulling her closer. The hard plastic of the monitoring clip on his finger almost tickled as it pressed against her back, but she barely noticed.

"Oh, you have _got_ to be shitting me!" An irritated female voice said, cutting through their blissful daze like a knife. Tommy's hands jerked away from her and Chloe jumped up and spun around.

There was a rather attractive woman standing in the doorway that appeared to be in her early thirties. From the irritation on her face... along with the somewhat angular jaw line and dishwater blonde hair that matched Tommy's, Chloe easily deduced this was his mother. Tommy quickly confirmed it.

"Mom!" He said, blushing brightly and struggling into a sitting position. "Um..." He said, looking between Chloe and his mother, "Mom, this is..." He began.

"Oh, like I give a shit who your little tramp is." She drawled irritably.

Chloe's jaw dropped indignantly.

"Mother!" Tommy hissed angrily.

"What the Hell you think you're doing, boy?" She snapped, striding in, practically dragging a little boy that looked about six or seven behind her. "I had the goddamn cops knocking on my door! I'd barely had time to take my coat off! If they'd've gotten there fifteen minutes earlier I woulda had to deal with those damn holier-than-thou social workers!"

"You went out last night?" Tommy asked, obviously aghast.

"I'm an _adult_. I can go out whenever I damn well please, and I certainly don't have to ask _your_ permission!" She growled.

"You knew I was out! How could you leave Levi home alone? He's not even seven years old!"

"Ya, well you were just over playing video games at your friends house. Right?" She asked with sarcastic sweetness, "If you'd have been home by ten like you _promised_ he wouldn't have been alone for long, now would he? I swear, you are so irresponsible! I should have known you were out getting wasted!"

"I wasn't getting wasted! I didn't even have a whole beer! Someone slipped me something!" Tommy said defensively.

Chloe just wanted to slink away and escape this little dysfunctional family nightmare, but unfortunately there was no easy way around his mother without getting closer to the woman than she was comfortable with. She could tell by the little furtive glances he was shooting at her that Tommy was horribly embarrassed that she was witnessing this scene, she just didn't know any way out of it. His little brother didn't look any better off. He was cowering a bit, looking back and forth between his brother and mother. He looked like he wanted to go to his brother, but just like Chloe, he wanted to stay out of the line of fire. The saddest part was it was pretty obvious this wasn't the first time he'd been put through something like this. His mother was still gripping his forearm, and it was obvious her tight grip was hurting him, but he didn't say a word.

"It really _wasn't_ his fault." Chloe interjected tentatively, trying to help Tommy by backing him.

The woman turned her angry gaze on her and Chloe immediately realized that had been a mistake. "What the Hell are you still doing here?" She snapped.

"Leave her alone!" Tommy snapped right back.

His mother looked over at him and tilted her head, giving him a nastily sarcastic smile, "Aw... isn't that sweet? Little Tommy's protecting his little girlfriend. What's the matter? Not done tapping this one yet?"

"Mother!" Tommy hissed.

"You knock her up and you're on your own!" She growled irritably.

"Jesus, you're drunk, aren't you?" Tommy asked with obvious disgust.

"Oh, like the boy who drugged himself straight into the hospital can really criticise someone who just had a nightcap." She drawled.

"Did you _drive_ here? With _Levi_ in the car?" He asked pointedly.

"Oh, I am just fine behind the wheel and you know it! I am not going to stand around and listen to your ridiculous accusations!" She said angrily, "Why don't you just go back to screwin the flavor of the week. They're not releasing you until tomorrow anyway. If you're lucky, I'll come back for you then!"

He reached over and grabbed the long key chain trailing from the pocket of her purse and yanked it out. She spun back, but her balance was a little thrown by the sudden movement, so she wasn't quick enough to nab the keys. He held them over, as far from her as possible, "You don't drive worth shit when you're drunk and we both know it. Have you somehow forgotten about that tree that 'came out of nowhere' last summer? Or the fence this spring that was four feet off the road, but 'somehow' managed to scrape the paint off the side of your car? Risk your own life all you want, but I'm not letting you drive off with Levi in this condition!"

"You are about five seconds away from a serious beating, boy!" His mother growled murderously.

"Aren't I always?" He replied evenly.

"You're a real son of a bitch!" She hissed.

"Obviously!" He shot back.

"Why you little bastard! You really are your father's son, aren't you?" She spat.

"I wouldn't know." Tommy replied deadpan, "Have I ever met him?"

Her jaw dropped in outrage. She released her grip on the boy's arm and belted Tommy hard across the face, leaving a vivid red handprint on his cheek.

"Mommy, don't!" Levi squealed, tugging on her purse.

"Stay out of this, you little shit!" She snapped, giving the boy a little careless shove back before returning her attention to Tommy, "Give me my fucking keys!" She screeched, smacking Tommy again.

Levi stumbled back from the shove. Chloe instinctively darted over to him, catching him after he tripped over his own sneaker and fell backwards, barely managing to keep him from cracking his head on the hard floor. She picked him up and he wrapped his arms and legs around her, sobbing. When she looked back to the bed, she saw that Tommy had curled in on himself and was covering his head defensively while his mother was hitting him, whacking him with her heavy looking purse and cursing at him. Chloe wanted to try to stop the obviously deranged woman, but she couldn't risk the little boy in her arms by intervening.

"Help!" Chloe yelled.

It turned out to be unnecessary, as two nurses and an orderly, alerted by the noise, were darting in the door almost before she got the word out.

One of the nurses and the orderly grabbed a hold of the woman to restrain her while the other nurse moved Chloe back to keep her and the boy out of harms way. Chloe just backed up to the wall, then closed her eyes and ducked her head down. God, she didn't want to see this! It didn't help that the little boy in her arms was sobbing and trembling, clinging to her as if she were a lifeline. She wished she could go back in time. This was all her fault! If she hadn't let Tommy have her beer he wouldn't be in the hospital. If she hadn't come to visit him his mother wouldn't be shrieking and making a huge scene. She just wanted it to stop!

"What the Sam Hell's going on in here?" The sheriff's voice called out, cutting through the din.

The wrestling around ceased and Chloe quickly blinked her eyes open.

The sheriff was standing there, hands on hips, the deputy standing behind her looking antsy to get in the room and help, but Mrs. Fischer was at least together enough to stop struggling once the sheriff arrived. The two who had been restraining her still had a hold of her arms. "My son and I were having an argument." Mrs. Fischer offered before anybody else could get a word out, "It got a little loud and then these brutes charge in here and grabbed me!"

"Oh please!" The nurse on her right said, "You were wailing on that poor boy when we got in here!"

She gave a little irritated sound, "This was a private family discussion and you had no right to barge in here and attack me! Let go of me, or I'm pressing charges!"

The orderly on her left just gave a derisive snort. "If you come in here and attack one of our patients we have every right to stop you!"

"Tommy?" Chloe said worriedly, trying to see around them to the bed. Little Levi grudgingly let himself be transferred over to the other nurse, then Chloe hurried over to bed, ignoring the poisonous glare Mrs. Fischer was giving her. "Tommy? Are you alright?"

Tommy flinched slightly when she touched him, but his eye flicked open and he relaxed when he saw it was her. "I'm fine." He muttered.

Chloe shifted closer, trying to see why he was keeping his face down on the pillow. She spotted a splotch of crimson. "Oh God! You're bleeding!" She said, her voice going a bit shrill with worry.

"I'm fine! Really, I'm fine." He quickly assured her. "I just have a bloody nose. Just give me some tissues and I'll be fine."

Chloe grabbed the tissue box off the bedside table and quickly pulled out half a dozen tissues, handing them to him. He put the wad of tissue to his nose and shifted up. Chloe noted he 'conveniently' shoved the pillow up against the headboard of the bed so the others could only see the clean bottom of the pillow... not the top with a blood stain bigger than a softball on it! He kept his head shifted away from the others as he tried to wipe as much of the blood off his face as he could.

"Are you alright, Mr. Fischer?" The sheriff asked.

"Fine, fine." Tommy replied quickly. "I get nose bleeds all the time. They don't usually last long."

"See? He's fine. He just got a nose bleed and these incompetents overreacted." Mrs. Fischer added, yanking her arms out of her captors hands. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going home." She said haughtily, grabbing up her purse.

"There's the rub, Ma'am. I'm afraid I _do_ mind." The sheriff replied evenly.

Mrs. Fischer gave an irritable huff, snatching the keys up from where they had fallen on the bed while the orderly and nurse watched her warily. "This is ridiculous! Tommy!" She said, rounding on her son and making him flinch slightly. "Did I hurt you?" She asked pointedly.

Tommy gazed at her for a moment, then dropped his eyes and shook his head.

Chloe's jaw dropped.

"See?" She said triumphantly.

"Mr. Fischer," the sheriff drawled, "If your mother didn't hit you, where'd you get that nasty bruise that looks to be raising on your cheek?"

Chloe's eyes darted over. There was a patch of discolored skin along his cheekbone that looked like it would be developing into a rather impressive bruise before too much longer. She hadn't even noticed it with as distracted as she'd been by the blood that continued to run from his nose, soaking through the tissues at an alarming rate.

"I fell down." Tommy muttered, not lifting his gaze.

Mrs. Fischer smiled and nodded, "He's pretty clumsy."

The sheriff folded her arms over her chest. "I see. And how does that explain why his skin is under those manicured nails of yours?"

The woman's eyes darted down to her hands and she noticed for the first time that there was blood on the tips of the pale pink nails of her right hand. "Ew!" was her only reply.

Tommy looked his arms over and realized she'd left a nice set of deep scratches across his wrist when she'd tried for the keys. His nose hurt so bad he hadn't even noticed the other wounds. "She tried to catch me when I fell." Tommy quickly supplied.

"Yep." His mother quickly agreed, giving the sheriff a bright smile.

"I see." The sheriff said, her voice dripping disbelief. "I happen to have been talking with your son's doctor before your little 'argument' distracted me. It seems your son has been falling down an awful lot these last couple years."

Mrs. Fischer shrugged, "He's really clumsy, like I said. The boy's got two left feet. He plays some sport kinda things at school too. That's probably where a lot of it comes from."

"Schools file reports if students are injured during sports. There are no reports on file, the doctor checked. Besides, I don't think they get a whole lot of bad bruising and broken bones in competitive swimming."

"This is a ridiculous witch hunt." Mrs. Fischer replied irritably. "And I'm not sticking around for it. You! Blondie!" She snapped at the nurse holding Levi, "Gimme my kid back. We're leaving."

"Hold up, there!" the sheriff said, holding up her hand to the mother while waving the nurse with Levi forward. The nurse brought the boy closer, eyeing Mrs. Fischer with obvious contempt.

"Can I see your arm, honey?" She asked the boy in a soft, imploring tone.

His bottom lip was trembling, and he looked wary, but he let her take his arm and look at it. "Now where did this come from then, do you suppose?" She asked sweetly, smiling over at the boy's mother as she let her see the handprint shaped bruise forming on the boy's arm from where she'd held it too tight.

Tommy's eyes snapped up, fixing on his brother's bruised arm.

Levi, seeing all eyes on him, got self conscious and pulled his arm away from her.

"You have bruises anywhere else, sweety?" The sheriff asked softly.

Levi looked at his mother, who glared back warningly, and quickly shook his head, then grabbed a hold of the front of his shirt and pulled it down some and held it to make sure she couldn't lift it. Of course since the shirt was a bit too big on him, obviously being a hand-me-down, doing that exposed a bit more of his shoulders... and the edge of another, fully formed bruise on his back. The sheriff noted it, then looked over at the boy's mother expectantly.

Mrs. Fischer barely hesitated. She jerked her hand up, pointing it straight at Chloe, "It was that little bitch right there." She announced, "She grabbed my little boy and yanked on him hard and made him fall down. I saw her myself. If you want to arrest someone, arrest her!"

"What?" Chloe sputtered in utter shock.

"She did _not_ and you fucking know it!" Tommy snapped angrily.

"Get your priorities straight, you stupid idiot!" his mother snapped back in an undertone.

"Mine are obviously a lot straighter than yours are!" He growled right back. "I'm not going to just stand by and let you falsely accuse her of something like that just because you can't control yourself!"

"Just shut up!" His mother snapped angrily.

"You swore you wouldn't touch him!" Tommy yelled, tossing aside the blood soaked tissues, "I keep quiet and Levi stays safe. That was the deal!"

"Shut up, you fucking moron!" His mother yelled back.

"I think I've heard enough." The Sheriff said, motioning her deputy over. He came forward, taking his cuffs out.

When he took hold of her hand, she jerked it to try to free it. "Let go of me! You can't prove nothin!" She yelled.

The Sheriff looked over to the nurse, "I want the little boy thoroughly checked over. X-rays, anything you feel is necessary. Take pictures of those bruises and anything else you find. As for the mother, I'd like a breathalyzer test done before we go, and while we're at it, check her for drugs as well."

The nurse nodded.

"Oh Hell no!" Mrs. Fischer growled as the deputy managed to get a cuff around the wrist he'd been struggling to keep a hold of. "Get the Hell off me!" She yelled, swatting her big purse at him. It hit him in the side of the head... and apparently it was as heavy as it looked, because it caught him off guard and he went down.

The Sheriff grabbed a hold of Mrs. Fischer, whipped her around and had her face first on the foot of the gurney almost before the deputy hit the ground. Tommy's mother winced as the Sheriff finished cuffing her, then glared at her son.

"You happy now, you little bastard?" She yelled at Tommy. "See what you did? Your worthless father is off in rehab, so now you and Levi get to go into foster care. Go on! Tell him what he's in for. Tell him what you did to him!"

"I've heard about enough out of you." The Sheriff growled, yanking her up and shoving her towards the door as her deputy got back up to his feet, nursing a sore jaw, but otherwise apparently unharmed.

"He's going to be fucked up for life, and it's all your fault!" His mother shrieked as they pulled her out the door.

As they hauled her out, the doctor that had been tending Chloe earlier came in, watching the still screaming woman as she was hauled past, but then focusing his attention on the occupants of the room.

"We're supposed to check this boy over for signs of abuse." The nurse holding Levi told the doctor.

He just nodded, his attention on Tommy.

Chloe looked over at Tommy, noting the beeping of the heart monitor was starting to race.

"Why don't you take the boy to the cafeteria and get him some ice cream first." The doctor suggested.

The nurse opened her mouth to reply.

"Now." He prompted softly.

She followed his gaze, then nodded and hurried out with the boy.

"Tommy, are you ok?" Chloe asked with quickly growing alarm. His heartrate had almost reached a hundred, and he looked like he was having a hard time breathing.

Tommy shoved the blanket aside and tried to get up, but just ended up sliding down to the floor.

"Tommy!" Chloe cried, ignoring the pain in her knees as she quickly dropped down beside him, catching a hold of him as he started to slide down to the side. He was gasping desperately for air, and as she pulled him up against her she could feel him shaking. She looked up and found only the doctor remaining in the room. "What's wrong with him?" She asked anxiously. Why wasn't this guy helping?

"It'll be alright." The doctor reassured her softly, "He's just having a panic attack. It's not his first. I sent the nurse for something to calm him down. Just keep him still and wait for it to pass."

Chloe nodded and held him tighter. He slipped his arms around her and pulled her tight, holding onto her as if terrified of letting go. The way he was gasping, his heart rate already into the triple digits, it was more than a little frightening. She could only imagine how it felt to him.

"Calm down. It'll be ok." Chloe said, trying to soothe him.

"No it won't!" He gasped, his voice tight with anxiety, "I fucked up! I totally fucked up!"

"No, you didn't!" Chloe insisted. "You're better off without that abusive bitch!"

He shook his head, but pressed closer still. "No, we're not!" He gasped. "I've been in... foster system..." He gasped, "Eighteen fucking months! They can't do that! Not to Levi! My mom is nothing. There's so much worse out there! I can't... I can't let them. Not Levi! I promised him I'd protect him! It's all my fault! It's always my fault! I'm such a fuck up!" He sobbed.

Chloe's eyes teared up. What had those fucked up parents done to this boy? She could hear the deeply ingrained sense of guilt and shame in his voice, and it broke her heart. She looked up as the doctor crouched down beside them. He pulled up Tommy's sleeve and swabbed his arm with alcohol, then gave him a shot. Tommy didn't even seem to notice, but his heart rate started dropping within seconds. Slowly his trembling went away and his breathing eased as he sagged against her.

"I'll make this right, Tommy." She vowed softly as his head drifted to the side, "I don't know how, but I will."

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A/N – Yes, I know, Smallville already has more than its fair share of psycho bitch mothers, but what's one more? :) And I know more than half the chapter didn't have Clark and Lex, but trust me when I say it was necessary. And yes, I'm aware the chapter title was painfully unimaginative, but I'm tired... so did you really want to wait another day or two for me to think up something better? I didn't think so. So, what do you think so far? Please do review. Remind me there might actually be a few people out there reading this. It might help motivate me to write more... *hint hint* :)


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